The online racing scene has been going from strength to strength in recent years, having become ever more popular as an E-sport. If you can get a hold of a decent force feedback racing wheel and set of pedals, this somewhat niche category of gaming can become extremely addictive.
Whether you’re side to side with other cars on a circuit race or trying to place as high as possible on an online time trial leaderboard, the sense of competition will keep you coming back for more.
Many of the games on this list are hardcore sims and have a pretty steep learning curve. But if you stick with it, there are few more satisfying experiences in gaming, at least in my experience. Did I mention I’m a world record holder in Dirt Rally 2.0?
10 Automobilista 2
Unparalleled VR driving.
Automobilista 2 boasts a slew of great features. It has a huge roster of cars and iconic tracks and probably the best weather simulation of any racing game right now. Where it really shines though is its VR.
If you want to get as close as possible to feeling like you are there, in the moment, hurtling down a track with scenery flying past you at hundreds of miles an hour, this might be the game for you. It is difficult to beat this game’s sense of speed when played in full VR.
9 GTA V Online
Can this guy pose as an NPC to escape pursuit?
Another game on this list which just seems to keep on giving, 2013’s GTA V is still going strong. Its online mode is a particular draw, with its satisfying blend of co-op story mode and free roaming chaos.
Unique on this list insofar as you can race any mode of transport, be it trains, planes, or automobiles, or even flying DeLorean’s; this game still holds up.
The online mode’s constant stream of updates since 2013 also ensures that you will have hundreds of hours of content to tackle. The game’s co-op operations mode is still really unlike anything else. Although it can be extremely frustrating if you can’t find a dependable team of four. If one of you dies, you restart. The amount of times that one guy crashed his parachute into that mountain in exactly the same spot… I don’t like to think about it.
GTA V roleplay servers also have to get a mention as a mainstay of the YouTube and Twitch communities, although they aren’t necessarily racing related. Racing adjacent maybe.
8 F1 2020
Lewis Hamilton, eat your heart out
Since they were given the official licence in 2009 off the back of the success of their excellent Racedriver GRID, Codemasters has rarely put a foot wrong with their annual F1 series. This year’s entry sees several improvements, including an improved driving model, split screen multiplayer, and driver assists which help to flatten out the game’s prohibitively steep learning curve.
If you’re a fan of F1, there’s really no other option. But even if you aren’t, F1 2020 has one of the best career modes going, as well as a fantastic, lovingly rendered, selection of iconic tracks. F1 driving isn’t to everyone’s taste though and it’s a steep learning curve for even the most seasoned racing sim veteran.
F1 is a totally different discipline when compared to other forms of track racing, especially when it comes to the tactics employed over a long race.
7 BeamNG.drive
Weirdly Satisfying.
Beam NG has been in early access for 8 years now, but don’t let that take away from this indie classic’s unique combination of soft body physics and eclectic mix of game modes.
Having been a standard of YouTube compilations for years now, the unpredictable real time nature of this game’s soft body physics gives it almost infinite replayability. You might also want to consider this one in terms of its merits as a driving game though.
Having just received a comprehensive update to its driving model, Beam NG has become a serious contender when it comes to both off and on road driving. Its bizarre variety of vehicles and game modes, along with its impressive modability, will also keep you coming back for more.
Not to mention BeamNG’s integration with Automation - The Car Company Tycoon Game, which lets you take your lovingly designed creations and smash them into a wall at over 200 miles an hour, just to see what happens.
6 Forza Horizon 4
Gorgeous recreations of Edinburgh and Pastoral Britain.
2018’s Forza Horizon 4 is still unparalleled when it comes to online, open world racing games. The ability to drive to almost anywhere you can see, on road or off, with a wide roster of vehicles, suitable for either situation, makes this game a joy to play.
The game also boasts some stunning scenery which makes it a virtual sightseer’s dream. Its cut down and condensed version of Edinburgh is particularly impressive, with recognisable landmarks like the Scott monument and Edinburgh castle bearing striking resemblances to their real-world counterparts.
There’s also something on offer for both fans of sim and arcade racing; the game’s driving model being adjustable on the fly.
5 WRC 9
Footage of Rally Sim pros can be seriously hypnotic.
The officially licenced WRC series has had to play second fiddle to the Dirt franchise in recent years. That all changed with last year's WRC 8 however, which was more than a match for Dirt Rally 2.0. The games both boast a more in-depth career mode, and a better selection of tracks.
As with all WRC games, you also have the benefit of officially licenced cars and drivers, although the overall selection of cars will feel very limited if you have come from Dirt Rally 2.0.
WRC 9 can also boast of being the first rally sim available on next gen, and its graphics are starting to make 2019’s Dirt 2.0 look seriously dated.
4 iRacing
Lando Norris and Max Verstappen compete in this racing driver approved track racing sim.
A mainstay in the sim racing community, iRacing is a subscription-based service which has been receiving regular updates since its release in 2008. The game has an unrelenting focus on realism, striving to get as close to the track day experience as possible. This focus extends to its online ranked matches which are locked into the game's intricate and immersive cockpit views.
Known for its dedicated and competitive community, which counts many famous real world drivers amongst its ranks, iRacing has been a fixture of the sim racing community for over a decade. That doesn’t look like it will change any time soon either.
3 Assetto Corsa
What other game gives you the opportunity to drive a shoe?
Assetto Corsa was the definitive track racing sim back in 2014 and it's still going strong. Having since had a follow up in 2018’s Assetto Corsa Competizione, it is still difficult not to recommend the original. While the follow up has an improved driving model, built from the ground up in a new engine, and an official licence going for it, the original’s modability means you’ll have the opportunity to drive everything from the latest Lamborghini to a giant shoe. This series is all the more impressive considering the project started back in 2006 with one guy at the helm.
2 Richard Burns Rally
This classic still stands the test of time.
You may have noticed that this article is entitled ‘Top 10 Online Racing Games to Play Today’. Why then, you may ask yourself, is a game from 2004 included in this list? Has this reviewer run out of ideas? The answer to that question, fellow gamers, is no, he has not.
Remarkably, this classic, who’s release predates the birth of the majority of Gen Z, is still going strong. This is in no small part due to the remarkably dedicated modding community, which is still active to this day. Thanks to them, you can choose from almost any car you can think of, either modern or legacy, and the overall driving model, graphics, and sound have also been updated by several modders.
You might want to look up an install guide on YouTube however, as modding this game is not very intuitive. The vanilla game itself still holds up too however, the driving model having been worked on by the late great Richard Burns himself. Having tragically passed away from a brain tumour in 2005, it's heartening to think that the insights of this rally legend live on in a real time simulation model.
1 Dirt Rally 2.0
Real life rally driver and co-driver collaborate to complete a stage in this state-of-the-art sim.
John Armstrong, Dirt 2.0 ambassador, has actually made a career for himself in real life WRC 2 after finding his footing as a sim racing champion. What other game gives you skills that transition to reality so directly? None I can think of. And no, E-Sports don’t count as reality, sorry gamers.
At the very least you will have earned the skillset to make a quick getaway down a dirt road in a sort of Mad Max/ rural bank robbing scenario. But don’t get ahead of yourself, remember that anyone who makes the transition from virtual to real life racing has to go through a serious amount of training before they get anywhere near a car.
Furthermore, even the most basic of starter cars require a daunting level of investment to reach race legal safety standards. I for one will be sticking to my gaming chair. Although, I do currently hold that world record…
