Racing simulator for a brand activation
A drive through Tokyo that tells you who keeps it running.
TDK did not ask for a video game for their booth. They asked for a drive through Tokyo where the person at the wheel gradually discovers that the technology running the city is TDK's.
- Industry
- Electronic components
- Use case
- Brand activation
- Technology
- Assetto Corsa on PC, with wheel and screen
How it came together
Three days of event, one date that would not move
The challenge
TDK makes components nobody sees: capacitors, sensors, filters, inductors. They sit inside a Formula E car, inside a traffic light and inside a vending machine, and in all three the end user never knows they are there. At the Fan Village it had a booth, the car and three days.
The idea, which is Excape's
Excape Entertainment Group arrived with it already solved: the experience should feel like a drive through Tokyo in which the driver discovers, street by street, the technology that keeps the city running.
What we built
The entire race track: the city, the layout, the four acts and the branded moments, over real Tokyo streets and running on Assetto Corsa. Delivered inside the June to July window, against the event date.
The route, street by street
The layout runs over places you can recognize: Shibuya Crossing, Meiji Dori towards Ebisu, the Rainbow Bridge, Roppongi, Omotesando, Harajuku and Yoyogi Park, closing in front of a giant digital sign at a ramen shop. It is a Tokyo you know, which is why the driver always knows where they are.
Four tunnels change the city along the way: you enter in the real Tokyo and come out in an alternate one carrying the brand's palette, until the last tunnel takes the driver back to normal. The route shipped complete, all four acts and all four tunnels, with nothing cut to hit the event date.
The branded moments sit where the technology actually lives: traffic lights and street lighting, digital signage, telecom equipment, vending machines, EV charging and security cameras. Barriers and kerbs carry the client's palette.
Project details
- Client
- Excape Entertainment Group (Japan)
- End client
- TDK
- Platform
- Assetto Corsa on PC, with wheel and screen
- On site
- Two stations and a live leaderboard screen
- Scope
- City, layout, the four acts and branded moments over real Tokyo streets
- Date and venue
- June and July 2026 · activation July 24 to 26, Tokyo E-Prix Fan Village
What it looked like on the floor
The leaderboard is what turns someone walking past into someone waiting in line, because everyone wants a time to beat. And every lap is minutes of a person inside the brand.
“They responded and got the project done in a very short period of time.”
What makes it work
Four decisions you can repeat
- The experience was framed as a drive of discovery.
- The circuit runs over streets people recognize, from Shibuya Crossing to Yoyogi Park.
- The branded moments sit where the technology actually lives, from traffic lights to vending machines.
- The live leaderboard is what creates the queue and the dwell time.
The GEN3 car you see in the simulator was built by Excape. We built the city and the entire race track. We spell it out because in a project like this it is easy for a vendor to take the whole medal.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a custom circuit for a racing simulator take?
This one shipped inside the June to July 2026 window, against an event date that would not move. Scope sets the time: how many kilometers of city get modelled, how many recognizable places carry detail, and how many branded moments go into the route.
Can my brand live inside the circuit, and not only on the booth?
Yes, and that is the difference between a borrowed game and an activation. Here the brand lives on the barriers, on the kerbs, in the city signage and in everyday objects along the route, in the client's palette. The attendee drives inside the brand.
What does a booth need to run a simulator like this?
At this event it was two stations with a wheel and a screen running Assetto Corsa, plus a live leaderboard screen that ranks lap times. The leaderboard is what turns someone walking past into someone waiting in line.
Tom KlukowskiFyware Partner · Valcre Marketing
Want a result like this in your operation?
Fyware has delivered 750+ XR projects for clients like Gerdau Corsa, Cummins and Medverse, from Mexico in US Central Time. Tell us your case and we will tell you what is feasible, how long it takes and what it costs.
Same approach, your city and your brand: we build the circuit or the experience, and the brand lives inside what the attendee drives.
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