BeamNG Merch?

Mainly because games such as Minecraft, Fortnite, FNAF etc. have a massive cult following, so therefore it is guaranteed profit to release merchandise.

However BeamNG.drive has a much smaller community as it appeals to a pretty niche market, so therefore the developers need to research if it is financially viable to produce merch such as clothing, model cars etc.

 

I think it's more of a publisher thing than anything else. It's cheap to go to a company and have your logo printed on premade items (though BeamNG clothing would be a bit odd), and they might even be able to profit by having a company 3D print/laser cut/etc... stuff in bulk for them (Especially with some marketing tricks, example below). Also, BeamNG isn't exactly an unpopular game, even if it won't reach the obsessed middle schooler status. Just look at how many views some of those repetitive crash complilations STILL get.

In terms of popularity/profit, just look at how many youtube/twitch content makers have their own merch and online stores for them.

For stuff like models, they could do some limited prodiction stuff as trials. For example, I imagine if, with proper advertising, they made a limited production "collector edition" run of small scale official vehciles in chrome they would sell great.