The popularity of PC racing games continues to be high. In order to have an even more exciting gaming experience, many users play them on multiple monitors or ultra-wide screens. This, combined with a steering wheel and the right seat, almost makes you feel like you are inside a car. If your goal is to be perfect, the best racing games for PC have extensive online modes where you can compete with other players and beat new records.
You will also need to take advantage of advanced modification and tuning options, which will help you tailor your vehicle perfectly to your style of play. We have put together a ranking of popular racing games for the PC. Some of these games also feature local multiplayer modes, where you can compete with your friends on the same computer.
In this list, we’ve tried to find a balance between faithful racing simulations, those games that bring realism and accessibility together, and action-oriented arcade competitions. This list is geared towards games that offer a variety of experiences in one box, as well as games that work without fuss. However, we should mention that almost all of the games listed here has their console version too.
Lonely Mountains: Downhill
- Developer: Megagon Industries | Release: October 23, 2019 | Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One
Of course, riding a bike is also a racing sport, especially if you’re only sitting on it virtually and in pixel graphics. And that is why Lonely Mountains: Downhill also belongs to this list. Its races are extremely fast, and thanks to an astonishingly high degree of realism, you constantly have to be careful not to slip off the pedals.
Thus, Lonely Mountains: Downhill is somewhat reminiscent of Trials, just with 3D levels and more freedom in choosing the best route to the finish. The game is always downhill in entertaining challenges and races, but sometimes it’s on the nose. The only point of criticism of the game: The size is not particularly large, after a couple of hours you have unlocked all the routes and seen everything. Still, it’s a lot of fun!
Assetto Corsa Competizione
- Developer: Kunos Simulazioni | Release: May 29, 2020 | Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One
Different from its predecessor, Assetto Corsa Competizione no longer covers the entire world of racing but instead excels in a single discipline: to make GT racing as realistically playable as possible. Just the console versions have been released, but the simulation makes by far the best figure technically on the PC.
Assetto Corsa Competizione mainly goes into depth, yet still offers a pleasantly wide range of modes – from career to single races and multiplayer, there is the standard assortment. You should still bring along a lot of personal commitment, because, as with every simulation, what counts here above all others is the fascination of realizing your very own racing dreams and experiments.
Incidentally, in July 2020 a larger expansion was released with the GT4 Pack, which – the name gives it away – brings the GT4 class and 11 new cars to the start.
WRC 10
- Developer: KT Racing | Release: September 2, 2021 | Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch.
As the World Rally Championship celebrates its 50th anniversary, WRC 10 aims to turn this long racing history into a game that will ideally provide you with dozens of hours of rallying fun. Clearly, as with any annual franchise, WRC 10 is more of an accumulative upgrade to WRC 9 and not a 400-meter track jump. However, in terms of course and vehicle variety, you do get a very, very plump offering here.
Single-player fans can jump into the career mode, working their way up from junior to their own racing team, sliding across numerous dangerous courses and ideally planning the right equipment in advance. WRC 10 is clearly aimed at fans who can ignore rough edges. The game requires a lot from you, of course, you won’t find a rewind function like in Forza, and the road to your own team is long and sometimes difficult. Still: if you like muddy or snowy rally courses, you will undoubtedly love WRC 10.
Riders Republic
- Developer: Ubisoft | Release: October 27, 2021 | Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Stadia
At first, we just thought the Riders Republic was silly clunky stuff: Some wild mix of mountain biking, snowboarding, or wingsuit racing with dozens of people, all looking like a Fortnite clothing roundup? Well, and Riders Republic… is also silly slapstick, but it is amazingly fun. Ubisoft really goes for the creativity here and gives you a pretty unique racing experience: it is utter chaos!
You will do yourself a favor not to take Riders Republic too seriously. Humour is too childish even for kids, while collision detection, balance and AI behavior definitely don’t pass a driver’s license test. However, sometimes the whole is greater than the sum of its parts: Riders Republic is a lot of fun, even in multiplayer. Buy it in a sale, though, ideally.
Dirt 5
- Developer: Codemasters | Release: November 6, 2020 | Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
Dirt 5 avoids the mistake of Project Cars 3, as it doesn’t even pretend to be a serious racing sim. You get snappy, old-school arcade racing instead. And by the way, that applies to both the good and the bad. You do not have to expect an elaborate story mode here. Rather, Dirt 5 is aimed at purists: Challenge after challenge, you race your way through the campaign.
Suitable for whom? Dirt 5 has its rough edges. It definitely doesn’t drive in the A-class technically, the whole surrounding seems quite rough and reduced. However, in its best moments, Dirt 5 is still a lot of fun, goes easily by the hand and drives really well (at least with the gamepad). Dirt 5 is naked, honest driving fun. Codemasters plans to keep building on the game after release – so if you’re still in doubt (and understandably so), keep further developments on the radar anyway.
Need for Speed Heat
- Developer: Ghost Games | Release: November 8, 2019 | Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One
Need for Speed Heat brings the series back to old form. Of course, its campaign is still laugh-out-loud funny, and the “unknown edgy racer becomes a star” storyline is trite to no end – but Need for Speed isn’t played for dramatic turning points, it’s played to race through a sunny open world, overtaking rivals and pissing off the cops. All of that is the focus of Heat.
During the day you’ll work on your racing career, and at night you’ll engage in dramatic car chases – both of which will unlock new cars, challenging tracks, and outfits. Need for Speed Heat is far from perfect, with the AI remaining a problem and the cop balance fluctuating wildly. But if you see Heat in the sale and are wondering if Need for Speed is still as plagued a loot box debacle as it was in Payback days: Nope, in the meantime you can grab it with far less hesitation.
TT: Isle of Man – Ride on the Edge 2
- Developer: KT Racing | Release: March 19, 2020 | Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One
One of the most dangerous motorcycle races in the world is the Isle of Man TT. Each year, dozens of racers race across the roads on the British island in order to reach the top. And that is exactly what you do in TT: Isle of Man – Ride on the Edge 2. The high level of risk is also a gameplay factor here: in Isle of Man 2, you slip out of the corner extremely quickly and fall off the bike. So watch out!
In terms of gameplay mechanics, Isle of Man 2 offers an all-around solid, but not an outstandingly realistic racing experience. The great bonus compared to MotoGP? The famous Isle of Man. To thunder over the British island, nature in the side mirror awakens and satisfies wanderlust.
As far as scope is concerned, Isle of Man 2 offers a compact arsenal: in addition to multiplayer and single races, the main focus is on the career mode, where you make a name for yourself on the island, score bonuses and gradually work your way up to the top. Isle of Man 2 isn’t a genre milestone but is certainly worth considering in a sale.
Wreckfest
- Developer: Bugbear Entertainment | Release: June 14, 2018 | Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One
Anyone who liked Flatout will love Wreckfest. This is the conclusion that many reviews of Wreckfest end with, and it could hardly be summed up any better. This racing game comes from the developers at Bugbear Entertainment, who launched the Flatout series in 2004. After the series went downhill in terms of quality, though (without Bugbear’s involvement), the creators took heart and developed a successor in spirit.
And thus we ram, speed and roll through Wreckfest with our dented bodies in destruction races and deathmatches. There are some weaknesses in the racing fun, but anyone who likes to crash one car into another at full speed can probably overlook a boring campaign or visual monotony. As long as it’s humming! And Wreckfest does that on a continuous basis.
NASCAR Heat 5
- Developer: 704Games Company | Release: July 10, 2020 | Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One
NASCAR Heat 5 is another mix of racing sim and arcade driving fun that focuses on a very special aspect of racing: famous NASCAR circuits. In particular, the AI has been optimized to meet their requirements. Enemy cars push their way from the inside lane to the outside in the speed rush of Daytona International Speedway, searching for the right gap.
You can’t expect triple-A equipment like in a Forza 7, however. NASCAR Heat 5 offers a fairly reduced but fun Offline Career, standard multiplayer modes, as well as Challenges. The real core – the races – are a lot of fun, because NASCAR races are their very own art. You should be up for it, as the game’s trappings don’t give you any additional motivation spirals worth mentioning.
NASCAR Heat 5 only has 64 percent positive user comments on Steam. Why is that? The game differs only marginally from its predecessor. If you have already played NASCAR Heat 4, then you should think twice about the purchase price of 42 Euros. In the end, you invest in an improved AI. In the meantime, Nascar 21: Ignition, a sequel under a new name, has been released, although it has been punished with disastrous user reviews on Steam. So better buy Heat 5 in the sale.
Automobilista 2
- Developer: Reiza Studios | Release: June 30, 2020 | Platforms: PC
Automobilista 2 is the perfect simulation for those who were disappointed by Project Cars 3. The game simulates the whole world of Brazilian racing on paper (and it does in practice), but of course, the cars and courses still originate and take you all over the globe. Do you want to race over a 1970s version of Interlagos? Or thundering around the Silverstone Circuit in a 1991 layout with German touring cars?
Developed in close collaboration with the Project Cars developers, Automobilista 2 offers a superb racing sim with superb weather patterns, a myriad of track and car combinations, as well as a dedicated development team that works on patches month after month. There is still no career mode for single-player enthusiasts, yet sim fans set their own goals. The game offers a lot of blueprints for them.
iRacing
- Developer: iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations | Release: August 26, 2008 | Platforms: PC
If a racing game already has tutorial videos on how to start your racing career in the first place – well, then you know what you’re getting into. iRacing has been considered a reference for sophisticated simulations for years, much like Arma 3 in the military shooter sector. The game is actually a service with a paid monthly subscription, where you create or buy your personal career focus.
This can be very expensive, as in many simulations, but on the other hand, you get maximum flexibility to thunder in-depth in your areas of expertise. Become a NASCAR pro? Perfect GT courses? iRacing goes in a totally different direction than Project Cars 3, for example, which has a mainstream appeal: enthusiasts will find a home here. This is why the game is constantly supplied with new updates, features and courses.
DiRT Rally 2.0
- Developer: Codemasters | Release: February 26, 2019 | Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One
This list’s best rally simulation is called DiRT Rally 2.0. After the excellent first DiRT Rally from 2015 topped many sports charts for a long time, its successor has now made it to the top places right away. In the second part, we drive over 72 beautiful tracks in six countries from Spain to Argentina, both in the free game and in the “My Team” career mode.
Overall, the gameplay is somewhat smaller than in the predecessor, DiRT Rally 2.0 delivers more quality instead of quantity. When we start later in events, the tracks already offer worse grip, for instance. In addition, force feedback during driving has been improved and the tuning options enable us to customize our vehicle according to our wishes.
MotoGP 21
- Developer: Milestone | Release: April 22, 2021 | Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One
At the end of April 2021, nearly exactly one year after its predecessor, Milestone released the new MotoGP 21. The basic principle hasn’t changed much, either: In this tough motorcycle simulation, you can manage your own racing team, make investments in upgrades in an extensive career mode, and, of course, race your way around the tracks. Although the AI still has its inconsistencies, added simulation aspects make for even more challenging rides.
So now you can manually run back to your bike if you crash. Also, there are long lap penalty loops for rule violations. Curbing has a greater physical effect on your bike, and you now have to keep an eye on brake temperatures. If the brakes are too cool, you will be hindered just as much as if they are too hot. MotoGP 21 is therefore not an earth-shattering sequel, but it is a very, very good motorcycle simulation in its own right.
F1 2021
- Developer: Codemasters | Release: July 15, 2021 | Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One
That F1 2021 was created as the first series installment under the backing of EA caused a lot of fans to frown worriedly in advance, but confidence pays off (at least here): F1 2021 is, just like last year’s model, a plank of a Formula 1 simulation. Of course, not all the changes really want to take off. While the new and highly touted story mode is rather meh, it makes up for it with a whimsical co-op experience, an improved AI, a more credible damage model, and a host of other detail improvements that push the already masterful F1 experience into the very highest scoring regions.
Those who love Formula 1 can’t get past this game, and it will provide many, many memorable hours.
Forza Horizon 5
- Developer: Playground | Release: November 9, 2021 | Platforms: PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
We should actually put Forza Horizon 4 and 5 on the winner’s podium one right after the other, as Horizon 4 is of course still one of the best racing games you can currently play in 2022 – however that would be a bit monochromatic, so we will focus completely on the newest part of the series: Forza Horizon 5. Let’s go to Mexico, into a new, giant open world with hundreds of activities, co-op, story events, PvP races, battle royale, and photo challenges.
There is no other racing game that is so packed with strong content, both in terms of quantity and quality. Those who get involved with all aspects of the game will easily be busy for 80 hours. The progression system is clearly weaker than in the predecessor, AI and balancing are still ailing. However, these stumbling blocks do not scratch the paint of Forza Horizon 5 at any point: this game is a masterpiece that every racing fan with a passion for casual spectacles should have played.
