What is the most realistic racing simulator?

That&#;s not to say the current list of sim racers is bad. Far from it, the world of sim racing has never been more stacked with variety or quality, and we&#;ve put together this list highlighting what we think are the best sim racing games you can play in , with a little sneak peek at what&#;s to come in .

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While PC gamers continue to benefit from modding capabilities, console players haven&#;t received a new big budget sim racer since Gran Turismo 7 in . That is unless you count the various F1 and WRC titles, which we&#;re discounting for this particular list.

It feels like we&#;re on the cusp of the next generation of sim racing games. The status quo has been pretty much untouched for a decade at this point, the same big names dominate the landscape of market leaders with the likes of rFactor, iRacing and Assetto Corsa maintaining strong and loyal player bases that continue to enjoy what they offer. But it does feel as though the options for console gamers especially are becoming a little long in the tooth.

Assetto Corsa Competizione

We&#;ll start with an IP that has grown in stature since its initial rather limited release on PC in . Developer Kunos Simulazioni has always prided itself on the realism of Assetto Corsa&#;s physics and tyre simulations, and it laid the foundation for Assetto Corsa Competizione, which is by far and away the most detailed representation of GT racing currently available.

As of September , you can choose to race in either GT2, GT3 or GT4 categories in cars spanning to the present day from manufacturers including Aston Martin, Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren and Porsche. Each has been accurately rendered with authentic sound design and representative handling characteristics that give every car its own subtle challenge.

The base game offers 11 tracks to race on, and all the big names are there from Barcelona, Brands Hatch, the Hungaroring, Monza, the Nürburgring, Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps. A long list of DLC additions expands that list to 25, with Bathurst, COTA, Donington Park, Laguna Seca, Snetterton and Suzuka among the bonus circuits.

In all, the amount of content on offer makes for a good amount of variety, and it&#;ll take a good while before you find yourself getting tired of repeated car and track combinations. It&#;s also a very accessible game thanks to a number of sliding options that allow you to tailor the physics and the level of challenge to your liking &#; particularly useful if you&#;re playing with a controller.

It&#;s a difficult thing to quantify, but Assetto Corsa Competizione might be the best sim racing game currently on sale. The fact it currently holds the licence as the official platform for all SRO Esports events including the GT World Challenge and that it was also used for the FIA Motorsport Games Esports Cup in , is hardly surprising.

iRacing

Away from the malleable experience of Assetto Corsa, iRacing takes the idea of simulation and brings it as close to realism as possible. There are no niceties or video game-esque concessions here, unless you want to be treated like a real racing driver, with all the pain and pressure that comes with that, iRacing is probably not for you.

It&#;s a subscription-based online sim racer that was first launched back in , with regular updates that have kept the graphics, physics and available cars as fresh as possible year on year. The goal with iRacing is to create an environment that mimics the actual experience of being a racing driver, often restricting players to the cockpit-only view, rather than allowing for an exterior follow cam. It uses LIDAR scanning for cars and circuits to deliver an authentic experience with every small undulation and imperfection in the surface recreated as it would be if you were driving it in your own car.

The online races are all serious business, too, with players and game developers alike keen on maintaining a strict regulation on driving standards to ensure the authenticity is not hindered or spoiled. Each player has a licence that reflects their experience level, and any poor behaviour on track will be penalised with &#;incident points&#; which affect their &#;safety rating&#;. It&#;s a well thought out system that helps to fit players into a suitable race with players of similar standard.

A base subscription will give you a choice of 24 cars covering NASCAR, sportscars, prototypes, single-seaters, rallycross and oval racers. You can choose to purchase up 150 in total, with the latest field of IMSA GTP cars, the Mercedes W13 F1 car and three generations of IndyCar all on the list.

Assetto Corsa

Another long-serving title is of course Assetto Corsa (AC). Kunos&#; do-it-all circuit racer serves as much the racing fans as it does road car enthusiasts with driving physics on a racing wheel that more serious Forza and Gran Turismo players have always pined for. The variety of machinery is solid in the Ultimate Edition version of the game. If you&#;re on PC, the selection &#; of cars and locations &#; is near-on endless, thanks to the dedicated and active modding community.

The racers are just as dedicated, though the platform lacks the framework of discipline to get the more serious drivers away from those with less discipline and a penchant for contact. At the very least AC is a great game on which to build up your driving skills, if not the very best to partake in racing at the highest level.

Project Cars 2

A tricky one, this, because you can&#;t actually buy Project Cars 2 anymore, at least not in digital form from an online store. It was a sad moment when it was announced that it would be delisted from sale due to expiring licences, because it brought sim racing to a more casual audience that perhaps would have been intimidated by the hardcore authenticity of iRacing. The good news is, if you already own the game, or can find a pre-owned hard copy, that the servers are all still up and running, so the option to play is still there if you want it.

It's certainly a more traditional video game experience than the focused modus operandi of Assetto Corsa and iRacing. In total, with all the various DLCs, you&#;ll have access to 146 different track layouts from 60 locations and 197 cars. The cars themselves were designed with painstaking attention to detail and collaborations with the manufacturers themselves to ensure authentic recreations of the different driving behaviours you&#;d come across in the real world. The list of cars is also as varied as it is broad, spanning to and covering a range of disciplines and categories.

A major feature of the game is the realism of its environments. The majority of circuits have been laser scanned for detailed accuracy, but Project Cars 2 implements new time and weather systems which allow for realistic changes in conditions as the race progresses.

If you&#;re lucky enough to still have access to this game then it remains a very detailed and satisfying sim racer. It&#;s not perfect, the AI is prone to stunted decision making that can be disruptive if you&#;re keen to enjoy a seamless experience, but at its best you&#;ll find yourself sinking hours into hunting for that extra precious tenth of a second.

rFactor 2

If only the ultimate in vehicle dynamics and physics simulation will do, then rFactor 2 is the sim racer that comes the closest to delivering a match for the real thing. Since it was first launched in it has enjoyed immense popularity thanks in no small part to its association with rFactor pro, which was used by several Formula 1 teams over the years for their own simulator systems.

The rFactor 2 engine is highly advanced, with detailed systems that can simulate things like chassis flex and suspension geometry characteristics to deliver a much more accurate representation of a vehicle&#;s behaviour. The developers also incorporated an intricate tyre physics model that can simulate realistic heat transfer between the carcass and the surface, with accurate wear according to interactions with a similarly detailed track surface as rubber is transferred from the tyres to the road in real time. Basically, what we&#;re saying is that the engine behind rFactor 2 leaves absolutely no stone unturned in delivering the ultimate driving experience.

And that&#;s just all the nerdy stuff. It&#;s quite easy to forget that it is still a game, and there are plenty of cars on offer for you to play around with. The BTCC, Sports Prototypes, GTE and GT3, Formula E, Formula 1 and NASCAR are all accounted for, while the list of available tracks is long and illustrious. You can get racing on up 48 tracks including Road Atalanta, Monza, Brands Hatch, Spa-Francorchamps, Zandvoort Laguna Seca, the Circuit de la Sarthe, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and several Formula E venues. But aside from all the original content, rFactor 2&#;s main attraction is its modding community, which has made the scope of the game almost endless for you race any car from any era on any circuit.

Le Mans Ultimate

From the developers of rFactor comes Le Mans Ultimate, the official of the FIA World Endurance Championship and the Le Mans 24 Hours designed to bring the new era of sportscar racing into our living rooms. It&#;s currently available in Early Access, which means it&#;s not yet in a complete state, and is being continually developed by Studio 397 according to ongoing testing and player feedback.

Featuring a list of cars that includes the entire WEC grid of , supplemented by Hypercars that entered the series in from Alpine, BMW and Lamborghini. That means you have 12 hypercars in all, with two LMP2 chassis and four GTE cars, each with several livery options to denote the different teams. The track listing boasts the complete WEC calendar plus Imola and the Circuit of the Americas, so aside from Lusail, you have the entire schedule to play with too.

Its close ties to rFactor mean that many of those class-leading simulation features make an appearance here, too, including the Real Road 2.0 system that accurately represents the evolution of the track surface over time &#; a massive element of endurance racing. Dynamic weather effects are also being developed, as are the cars themselves, that will deteriorate authentically as dirt and debris builds up.

If you&#;re looking for the ultimate Le Mans experience then this is it, the designers have got the name right. They&#;ve included some pretty neat features, too, such as asynchronous online play that allows you and friends to complete a full 24-hour race at your own convenience. When you pull into the pits at the end of your stint, your team-mate can jump in whenever they&#;re available to continue the race. The game for now is out on Steam, and console releases are not out of the question once development of the game is complete.

Automobilista 2

Next up we have Automobilista 2, which is built on the same Madness engine originally developed for Project Cars. It was plagued with issues immediately after launch, but over time the developers have rectified issues with the physics and general usability to deliver a game that has become acclaimed among sim racers generally.

With updated versions of the tyre physics and track surface simulation found in Project Cars, Automobilista 2 delivers a somewhat recognisable experience to that game, albeit with a slightly more nuanced feel that has been spread across a much wider variety of cars.

Although many aren&#;t officially licenced, there are recognisable replicas of F1 machinery from the s right through until the mid-s. Automobilista does however have licences with McLaren, Lotus and Brabham, so you can climb into the cockpit of some of history&#;s most memorable racing cars.

There&#;s also a good selection of prototypes including current GTP cars from BMW and Porsche, GT machinery from Mercedes and the McLaren F1 GTR, there&#;s an M1 Procar, Porsche 911 RSR and even a handful of road cars to choose from.

Then there&#;s the list of circuits, which is massive. Think of a race track, it&#;s probably here, but you can also choose from which era you&#;d like to race it. Spielberg circa ? Spa-Francorchamps ? Imola in its current form? There are a lot of very cool options here, and this alone makes Automobilista 2 one of the more intriguing games on this list. 

Gran Turismo 7

And finally, of course we have to include the sim racer that made sim racing popular. Gran Turismo has long been the poster child of mainstream racing games, particularly on console where it has ruled the roost on PlayStation since . Now in its seventh full iteration, GT is still holding firm as a major player on the market.

It&#;s been on sale now for more than two years, and following a troubled initial launch it has been gradually perfected over a protracted development cycle that has seen several tweaks to the physics engine and a huge inflation in the number of available cars and circuits. The handling has been fettled and measured with accurate simulations of the car&#;s real characteristics, but it&#;s definitely a more relaxed approach than the uptight perfection-or-bust attitude of more focused sims.

It may not have the complex simulation systems of an iRacing or rFactor, but where those titles major on detail and accuracy, Gran Turismo leans more towards accessibility and cool factor. It&#;s a story-driven game first and foremost, where players need to embark on a journey to unlock the cars they want to drive.

You have to learn how to drive effectively, but you won&#;t be scared away by overwhelming complexity. The focus is on enjoying the cars themselves, rather than worrying too much about how they feel. Revelling in the sights and sounds rather than getting bogged down in tyre temperatures. It&#;s a different approach to sim racing, but a popular one nonetheless, and perhaps the first step on a journey towards other titles on this list.

Honourable mentions...

EA Sports WRC

Taking over development from Kyloton, some expected EA&#;s re-entry into the WRC world might fall a bit flat. Quite the opposite is the case. Using its extensive experience with its Dirt franchise in combination with a more down-the-line tone an official title should take, EA WRC turned out pretty damn well for controller and wheel players alike.

The WRC franchise, going back through Generations, and the various numbered titles Kyloton provided, is a delight, though EA&#;s triple-A resources have definitely been felt in a good way in this latest release.

• Assetto Corsa

• Project Cars

• Forza Motorsport

• Gran Turismo

• Gaming

• FOS Future Lab

• Race

• Modern

• GTRevival

• Le Mans Ultimate

• Sim racing

• esports

Sim racing and esports journalist. Occasional Motorsport photographer, eSports competitor and distinctly average cyclist.

We usually focus on elements of sim racing such as gaming hardware, setup tutorials, and how-to guides here at SIMRACINGCOCKPIT.GG, I thought it would make a nice change of pace to discuss some of the best sim racing games for any driver looking to expand their experience beyond their usual sim platform.

Today, we&#;re handing over to our guest star, Ross McGregor to take a closer look.

Whether you enjoy a good smash and crash scenario in BeamNG.drive or a serious bit of competition in iRacing, these are the best games sim racing developers have on offer:

Contents: What are our favourite sim racing titles?:

Assetto Corsa

Compatibility: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
Ultimate Edition RRP: £13.29 (includes all DLC packs)

Since its release in , a hugely passionate community of sim racing fans has taken Assetto Corsa to its collective hearts, making it perhaps the most popular &#;serious&#; sim ever.

Developer Kunos Simulazioni combines believable driving physics with attractive visuals to create an immersive racing experience, signing key licensing deals with Ferrari and Porsche to help bring some truly iconic cars to its vehicle roster.

With 178 cars and 19 tracks, there&#;s no shortage of combinations to enjoy, with VR compatibility enhancing the experience further.

Mclaren P1 &#; Assetto Corsa Mod

However, AC&#;s modding capabilities keep it relevant ten years on; name a car or track and someone has likely created it in AC (although mods are only available for the PC version and not on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One or Xbox Series X|S).

The most important mods, however, relate to how the game looks, bringing the game&#;s graphics up to current standards.

One of the best Assetto Corsa Mods &#; the Formula Hybrid

Mods like Sol, the Custom Shaders Pack and Pure variously introduce day/night cycles, dynamic weather and jaw-dropping effects, while Content Manager offers a handy way to consolidate everything into one, easy-to-use package.

Thanks to its popularity with road, dirt and drifting communities, AC has a plethora of written and video tutorials to help newcomers get up and running with mods too. Therefore, in many ways, AC is the perfect gateway into the sim racing scene.

Although its driving physics perhaps lack the fidelity of rFactor 2, AC captures so much of the essence of sim racing that it should be part of any racing enthusiast&#;s library.

Assetto Corsa Competizione

Compatibility: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S
Ultimate Edition RRP: £50.55 (includes all DLC packs)

After its full release in . Assetto Corsa Competizione was a surprise hit for Kunos Simulazioni, especially after its success with Assetto Corsa.

Based on the Blancpain Endurance Series (now known as GT World Challenge Europe) for GT3 racecars, ACC is an officially licensed game that moved away from using Kunos&#; proprietary game engine towards Unreal Engine. This stepped up the visual presentation of the game but also made it far more resource-intensive.

The way it looks is secondary to the overall driving experience, however, with genre-leading sound design and believable physics immersing the player in the hot seat of a trick GT3 car.

A guide to Assetto Corsa Competizione&#;s v1.8 Cinema HUD photo mode (read my article here)

DLC packs have bumped the laser scanned track list up to 25, including perhaps the best-ever version of the Nürburgring Nordschleife, while the range of cars &#; although limited to SRO-sanctioned series &#; includes GT2, GT3, GT4, TCX and single-make series vehicles like the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup and Ferrari Challenge.

With a fairly limited single-player experience, ACC players mostly find their kicks online, with the official SRO Esports series impressively blurring the line between real and virtual motorsports thanks to its slick presentation and fierce competition.

ACC FERRARI 296 MONZA POLE LAP | SRO ESPORTS SPRINT &#; Tinko van der Velde

As the SRO-run GT World Challenge has covered the globe with its championships, the popularity of GT3 racing and ACC has skyrocketed. As such, once Assetto Corsa Evo is released it will be interesting to see whether ACC will continue to be developed.

Read the setup guide to Assetto Corsa Competizione here.

Automobilista 2

Compatibility: PC and Linux
RRP: £34.99

Trying to build on the success of  &#;s Automobilista was always going to be a tough task for Brazilian developer Reiza Studios.

The PC-only title was effectively a heavily improved version of Image Space Incorporated&#;s rFactor but with more single-player content, more officially licensed series (including Brazilian Stock Car V8s and Formula 3 Brasil) and a greater variety of tracks (including Brazilian gems like Campo Grande and more familiar British tracks such as Oulton Park and Snetterton).

Caterhams in AMS2

However, its driving physics were second to none, which is unfortunately where its sequel, Automobilista 2, falls down.

Using a version of Slightly Mad Studios&#; MADNESS engine (as used in Project CARS 2), AMS 2 features a robust enough handling model but, it lacks the cutting-edge tactility of its top-tier sim rivals.

On the other hand, AMS 2 looks incredible &#; especially in VR &#; and its sheer variety of cars and tracks makes it an excellent platform to showcase sim racing to your friends.

Super Trucks, touring cars, Group C prototypes, historic single-seaters, rallycross and up-to-date Formula 1-style machinery are all present and correct, with dynamic weather and day-to-night transitions supplying all the eye candy you&#;ll ever need.

And the track roster isn&#;t bad either, with famous venues such as Le Mans, Daytona, the Nordschleife and Spa-Francorchamps all represented, with more DLC and physics improvements promised for future updates.

The original Automobilista entry received a lot of praise for its phenomenal racing simulation but its successor, Automobilista 2 has upped the ante by providing sim racing enthusiasts with the perfect balance between simulation and realism.

AMS2 photography

Developed by Reiza Studios and released in , Automobilista 2 is available for Microsoft Windows and Linux only and you can grab this one for just $12.99 on Steam.

Over the years, Automobilista 2 has received regular updates, and new content is added with each update.

In the latest update, Reiza Studios has added the Le Mans 24-hour race and it is arguably one of the finest Le Mans experiences that you&#;ll ever get from a sim racing game. Everything from dynamic weather changes to day and night transitions is quite phenomenal. And when you&#;re tired from all the driving, your AI counterparts can drive till the next stop.

It&#;s an excellent package overall, but a little more work is required to bring the driving experience up to scratch. You wouldn&#;t bet against the talented team at Reiza nailing it.

In terms of DLC, you can purchase the - Season Pass for £79.99, which includes every DLC pack ever released for the sim. If you&#;re an endurance racing fan, then the Circuit des 24 Heures du Mans track is £8.99, while the Endurance Pack Pt1 adds three LMDh cars and four GT3 cars, again costing £8.99.

However, don&#;t expect Le Mans Ultimate levels of feedback and enjoyment from the sim&#;s physics.

Read our guide to AMS2 here.

BeamNG drive

Compatibility: PC
RRP: £19.20

BeamNG.drive arrived as a Steam Early Access title way back in , providing realistic handling and a genre-leading soft body physics model that allows players to destroy their vehicles in elaborate ways.

Although its development team is small, BeamNG has more regular players on Steam than many of the sims covered on this site, with a burgeoning mod scene allowing numerous new vehicles, environments and Scenarios.

A Volvo being punished in BeamNG

There&#;s even a multiplayer mod available, allowing friends to hilariously crash into each other online (although your experience will likely be unstable or even game-breaking).

The gameplay is largely freeform, with a short single-player career mode (a more comprehensive career mode is accessible but limited) complemented by a variety of zany, separate Scenarios.

BeamNG&#;s lineup of default cars includes road cars, supercars, dune buggies, trucks and three-wheelers, with diverse landscapes to explore including a re-creation of the Johnson Valley off-road racing hub in California.

Get BeamNG on Steam here.

It&#;s fun to explore the game&#;s various maps, with most of BeamNG&#;s vehicles feeling intuitive to drive. Some of the game&#;s off-road vehicles feel a little unsteady, however, especially when it comes to tackling steep slopes.

Using the game&#;s World Editor, players can also set up elaborate stunts to rival those created by their favourite online personalities, providing almost endless possibilities.

If you enjoy driving with no particular goal in mind, BeamNG is the game for you.

Read our guide to BeamNG Drive here.

Bertillo Product Page

EA SPORTS WRC

RRP: £39.99
Compatibility: PC, PlayStation®5, Xbox Series X|S.

EA SPORTS WRC is the follow-up to the immensely successful DiRT Rally 2.0, and has allowed EA and Codemasters to jump from Codies&#; proprietary Ego game engine to Unreal Engine. This allowed the team to create longer and more varied rally stages, with some even approaching a sweat-inducing 40 km in length.

SIM RACER &#; RALLY DRIVER &#; The Jon Armstrong Story

However, this comes at a cost, with frequent framerate drops and choppy game performance afflicting much of the community.  Frequent updates have helped alleviate much of these issues, so what we&#;re left with is a very competent rally sim (if your graphics work ok!), with all the bells and whistles that come with an official WRC licence.

This allows players to drive on iconic rallies like Monte Carlo, Finland and the Safari Rally, as well as get behind the wheel of Rally1 and Rally2 machinery.

There&#;s a wide range of customisability and a deep career mode too, with the latest &#;Locations & Cars Content Pack&#; adding the latest Rally1 challengers, the Ford Fiesta Rally3 Evo and my personal favourite, the Toyota GR Yaris Rally2.

Poland and Latvia also arrived as rip-snortingly quick environments to speed through and are possibly my highlight of the whole game.

WRC&#;s physics are by and large lifted from DR 2.0, so hustling a car between hedges at 100mph is as satisfying as ever.

Does it feel as intuitive as a modded version of Richard Burns Rally? Possibly not, but it&#;s fun nonetheless and its sound design and presentation are far superior. WRC&#;s controller compatibility is also a boon, allowing players to use obscure handbrake peripherals to their heart&#;s content.

EA SPORTS WRC DLC prices

WRC 24 Season Expansion Bundle: £24.99

• Locations & Cars Content Pack ()
• Le Maestros Content Pack (-25)
• Hard Chargers Content Pack ()

WRC 24 Season Locations & Cars Content Pack: £17.99

Le Maestros Content Pack: £TBC

Hard Chargers Content Pack: £TBC

F1 24

RRP: £69.99
Compatibility: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S

F1 24 is EA SPORTS and Codemasters&#; annual foray into the world of Formula 1, featuring the usual car and driver updates alongside tweaks to its handling model.

It doesn&#;t feature a &#;Braking Point&#; single-player storyline (this is a bi-yearly feature that will re-appear in next year&#;s instalment), but the series&#; comprehensive career mode is present and correct, replete with the obligatory Formula 2 cars.

F1 24&#;s physics has come in for criticism from many content creators and esports professionals, but the reality is they are more than acceptable for the majority of players, especially for those using a gamepad.

F1 World provides a bit of online longevity, yet the game is largely similar to previous iterations, especially in terms of presentation and on-track visuals. However, F1&#;s circuits have received a bit of glow-up with Spa-Francorchamps finally being reworked to include its new gravel trap run-off areas.

In my opinion, F1 24 is probably the best game in the series, being incrementally better than the previous iteration. But if you already own F1 23, or even F1 22, then it&#;s hard to recommend it as a full-price purchase.

Forza Motorsport ()

Compatibility: PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
RRP: £59.99

Turn 10 Studios&#; reboot of the Forza Motorsport franchise started on shaky ground when released in late , as slightly ropey car models were combined with an overly frustrating career mode.

Recently, however, the US-based studio has addressed Forza&#;s career mode issues, while graphics problems are confined to just a portion of its vehicle roster. For the most part, though, Forza is a good-looking game, with bombastic weather and audio effects.

If Gran Turismo 7 is a subtle and free-flowing sim racing ballet, Forza is like a Metallica concert in your living room, with James Hetfield screaming in your face. It&#;s intense.

Arguably, Forza is more enjoyable to control with a gamepad, while you&#;re always guaranteed to find someone to race against owing to its presence on Game Pass. Its multiplayer is its real strength, with the single-player career becoming a bit of a grind after a while.

However, Forza receives regular updates featuring new cars and tracks (new circuits are free, which is a huge bonus), and provides an instant hit of racing action &#; as you&#;d expect from a console-focused racer. Are the driving physics as realistic as those in rFactor 2 or Assetto Corsa Competizione? No, but it&#;s still fun without being completely unforgiving.

Install Forza on Steam here.

Gran Turismo 7

Compatibilty: PS4, PS5
RRP: £59.99 (PS4), £69.99 (PS5)

Forza Motorsport&#;s biggest rival is still arguably the more rewarding console driving experience. With photo-realistic graphics and the best photo mode in gaming, Gran Turismo 7 is deservedly the go-to racing game for beginners and experts alike.

The physics makes sense, albeit without the granular nuances of some PC-only sims, and the sounds have improved immeasurably from GT6 and GT Sport (there&#;s still work to do here to close the gap on Forza, however).

Gran Turismo 7 &#; GTWS Manufacturers Cup &#; /24 Exhibition Series &#; Season 2 &#; Round 1

GT7&#;s Sport mode continues to keep the series&#; fan base occupied daily, with new races added every week: from beginner-focused sprints to advanced-focused endurance events that often take advantage of the game&#;s clever dynamic weather system.

Much like Forza, GT7 receives regular content updates, but everything is free. Players are normally gifted three new cars every month but tracks have been few and far between.

Despite this, GT7 has an impressive lineup of circuits which includes the likes of the Nordschleife, Le Mans, Daytona, Laguna Seca and Road Atlanta, with a breadth of cars and car classes to race.

If you have a PlayStation 5 then this is a must-buy. It&#;s even available on the PlayStation 4, but the graphics are naturally less crisp. The PS5 version is also compatible with the PS VR2 headset, bringing an incredibly immersive racing experience to your living room.

iRacing

Compatibility: PC only
RRP: $13.00 per month (subscription / not including additional tracks / cars)
New cars: $11.99 each (10% discount for three pieces of content)
New tracks: $14.99 each (10% discount for three pieces of content)
Standard 12-month subscription: $110

Co-founded by John Henry of the Fenway Sports Group and Dave Kaemmer, iRacing has offered genre-leading multiplayer matchmaking since its inception in .

Kaemmer is a sim racing legend thanks to his work on titles such as Indianapolis 500: The Simulation, NASCAR Racing Season and Grand Prix Legends, which were all rightly lauded for their superior handling models.

BMW Motorsport at Daytona (source)

iRacing&#;s physics are more divisive, however, with many players being turned off by its &#;knife edge&#; feeling of grip and creaking suspension model. In my opinion, this makes it inferior to the likes of rFactor 2 and Assetto Corsa, but with over 100,000 subscribers, there&#;s no doubt iRacing has plenty of fans out there, and looking at the sim&#;s lineup of available cars and tracks this shouldn&#;t come as a surprise.

Everything from modern single-seaters to World of Outlaws Sprint Cars are present and correct, with the Tempest wet weather system &#; activated in March &#; adding a new edge to gameplay.

iRacing: Onboard at Silverstone

iRacing&#;s driver and safety ratings help sort players into races with similarly skilled opponents, ensuring races are as clean and fair as possible, with servers generally being reliable.

However, one thing to consider with iRacing is its cost. With new cars and tracks costing $11.99 and $14.99 respectively, racers need to be committed to making the most of it, especially as you&#;ll also be subject to a monthly subscription charge (this is mitigated by taking advantage of the service&#;s Black Friday deals, however).

iRacing&#;s visuals are showing their age too, with simpler car models in comparison to most of its rivals, but features like Tempest, AI racing and a hilariously over-the-top damage model keep it relevant and entertaining for the majority of users.

Le Mans Ultimate

Compatibility: PC
RRP: £28.99

Le Mans Ultimate is Studio 397 and Motorsport Games&#; officially licensed game of the FIA World Endurance Championship.

LMU has all the cars and tracks of the season in its initial Early Access build but lacks single-player championships and an official VR mode (among other important features). Its much-vaunted asynchronous multiplayer mode is present and correct, though, but not perfect.

Stunning Toyota from LeMans Ultimate

LMU has all the cars and tracks of the season in its initial Early Access build but lacks single-player championships, VR and its much-vaunted asynchronous multiplayer mode (among other important features).

However, it does have rFactor 2&#;s RaceControl multiplayer matchmaking system from the outset, as well as convincing car physics. Its graphics are also massively immersive, with a secret photo mode capable of producing incredible images.

Suitably for a simulation of endurance racing, LMU features a full day/night cycle and dynamic weather, making sunset sprints down Le Man&#;s Mulsanne straight a transcendental experience. Vehicle sounds are also largely excellent; a definite step above those found in rFactor 2.

The sim&#;s slightly buggy state is forgivable, however, given it&#;s wonderful to drive. One can only hope Motorsport Games survives long enough to see its vision through.

Le Mans Ultimate &#; Season Pass, £39.99

• All DLC packs

BMW M Hybrid V8 Hypercar, £Free

• BMW M Hybrid V8

Le Mans Ultimate &#; Pack 1, £9.99

• Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari (Imola Circuit)
• Lamborghini SC63
• Peugeot 9X8 ( spec)

Le Mans Ultimate &#; Pack 2, £9.99

• Circuit of the Americas (COTA)
• Alpine A424 Hypercar
• Isotta Fraschini Tipo 6 Competizione Hypercar

Le Mans Ultimate &#; Pack 3, £TBC, expected Q4

• TBC, One track and three LMGT3 cars

Le Mans Ultimate &#; Pack 4, £TBC, expected Q1

rFactor 2

Compatibility: PC
RRP: £24.99

Studio 397&#;s rFactor 2 covers the full gamut of touring car, open-wheel and sportscar racing, featuring officially licenced content from INDYCAR, the BTCC, Porsche, Caterham and Formula E, among others.

With perhaps the best-feeling car handling in the sim racing genre, rFactor 2 has seen a vast change in its fortunes since Studio 397 took over the reins from Image Space Incorporated.

rFactor 2&#;s graphics have improved a lot, for example, perhaps even surpassing the likes of RaceRoom, iRacing and Assetto Corsa in the visuals department, and new car and track content has diversified the sim&#;s approach, even becoming the platform of choice for the well-supported Le Mans Virtual Series and its showpiece 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual event.

Speaking of which, the previous running of Le Mans highlighted one of rFactor 2&#;s big weaknesses: its online stability. Many users experience dropped connections, lag and server outages while racing in rFactor2, with many more subject to the sim&#;s various bugs, including force feedback issues with Fanatec wheelbases.

Team Redline at LeMans

The online experience has improved in recent times, but it&#;s worth bearing in mind that getting rFactor 2 to run smoothly can be a challenging endeavour, with the UI equally tricky to negotiate.

If you can get it running smoothly, however, rFactor 2 is a hugely rewarding sim capable of producing the most immersive experiences in the genre.

Read our setup guide to rFactor2 here.

PISTA Motorsport

RRP: £12.79
Compatibility: PC

PISTA Motorsport is the newest sim on the block, bringing the Argentinian racing scene to Steam Early Access.

Developed by REG Simulations, who are best known for developing a range of Assetto Corsa mods, the sim aims to provide players with the full gamut of domestic Argentinian motorsport, including tracks like Termas de Rio Hondo and La Plata and series such as Formula 2 Argentina and the Turismo Carretera.

In its current Early Access state, PISTA Motorsport is some way off being a finished product, however, with poor graphics and sounds, as well as patchy physics. But there&#;s light at the end of the tunnel, as the studio has released a full roadmap of planned content and features up to a full release in .

Content includes 20 cars and 16 tracks, plus modding and new game modes. One to keep an eye on, but maybe after a few free updates!

RaceRoom Racing Experience

KW Studios&#; RaceRoom Racing Experience is nearly unique in the sim racing space due to its free-to-play status. There&#;s no monthly subscription either and players can even try content before they purchase it, ensuring RaceRoom has an edge over its competition.

Check out our beginner&#;s guide to Raceroom here.

RaceRoom

All of the sim&#;s content can also be picked up for around £50-60 when on sale, a figure that would only cover a few iRacing cars and tracks.

RaceRoom has several key official licences too, including for WTCR and DTM championships, with cars from GT3, GT4 and Formula 4 categories also represented. Sure, the free cars aren&#;t going to satisfy most petrolheads, but F1-grade tracks like Sepang and the Algarve International Circuit (Portimão) are available from the get-go.

RaceRoom has a modestly sized player base and several popular special events throughout the year, including the prestigious DTM Esports series and its &#;50,000 prize pool.

RaceRoom Spain Funny Cup WTCR Sponsored by simracingcockpit.gg

RaceRoom&#;s sound design comes in for particular praise, with raucously accurate onboard and external exhaust notes, but, at 11 years old the sim is starting to show its age, with no dynamic weather or day/night transitions.

A new tyre model in late helped freshen the sim up a little, however, with regular content drops scheduled for and beyond.

Free Sim Racing Games

Have you just jumped into sim racing head first? Have you just spent thousands on a top-of-the-range sim racing rig and have no money left to buy any driving games? Well, you&#;re in luck, as there are a few excellent racing games out there you can play for free.

From rally cars to single-seaters to driving road cars and sportscars, the following titles are sure to tickle your fancy while you save up for a £2 copy of Assetto Corsa in the next Steam sale&#;

RaceRoom Racing Experience

KW Studios&#; RaceRoom Racing Experience is the definitive, free-to-play racing simulator. With 13 cars and five tracks available to sample, RaceRoom offers more free content than any other sim.

Not only that, but players can also drive any of RaceRoom&#;s cars for at any time (albeit only on the RaceRoom Raceway circuit) for no extra charge, including fully licenced DTM cars (modern and historic) and varied fields from the WTCC, WTCR and ADAC GT Masters series.

RaceRoom was released back in and although it has received force feedback and physics updates in recent times it undeniably looks rough in comparison to the likes of Assetto Corsa Competizione, rFactor 2 and a modded Assetto Corsa.

However, fans of the simulation are looking forward to long-awaited graphical improvements that KW Studios teased back in May, as a video showcasing an upgraded Algarve International Circuit (better known as Portimão) was teased.

The flip side of this is RaceRoom will run well on all but the most aged PCs.

Although RaceRoom&#;s free cars are rather hit-and-miss in terms of desirability, the Saleen S7R, Lada Vesta and Formula RaceRoom Junior are still quite intriguing to drive, with truly quality tracks like the re-worked Portimão and Sepang available to race on.

Not only is RaceRoom highly regarded for its audio design, featuring some of the most realistic exhaust notes this side of a race track, but it also provides a superlative VR experience.

And if you do enjoy the sim&#;s free cars and tracks it&#;s possible to purchase every single piece of content for around £50 during one of the game&#;s many sales. Bargain. Take note, iRacing.

Copa Petrobras de Marcas

Developed by Reiza Studios, Copa Petrobras de Marcas is the official game of the Brasileiro de Marcas series, a Brazilian touring car championship ranked just under the country&#;s premier four-wheel category, the Stock Car Pro Series.

Brasileiro de Marcas does without the star quality of its bigger touring car brother, which has featured the driving talents of Rubens Barrichello, Ricardo Zonta and Felipe Massa over the years, but this free game is a microcosm of what makes Reiza&#;s early sim racing titles so great.

Copa Petrobras de Marcas

Featuring the official tracks of the championship, including the likes of Interlagos, Brasília and Curitiba, the game allows players to choose from four equally balanced front-wheel-drive touring cars from Ford, Chevrolet, Mitsubishi and Toyota.

Marcas came after Reiza&#;s sim Game Stock Car &#; which incidentally also had the Marcas cars &#; and was released as a free download at the behest of series sponsor Petrobras.

Although the cars require a little bit of set-up fettling (priority number one should be to set up their steering ratio to prevent catastrophic understeer), they still retain the physics sweet spot Reiza forged its reputation on in Game Stock Car, Game Stock Car Extreme, and the granddaddy of them all, Automobilista.

Richard Burns Rally

Although originally released some 20 years ago, Richard Burns Rally is more popular among the sim community now than it&#;s ever been.

The reason for this? Mods.

Yes, RBR has been tweaked and updated over the years and brought kicking and screaming into the present day, as it now stands as the connoisseur&#;s choice in terms of virtual rallying.

Modders like the legendary WorkerBee have helped fix some of RBR&#;s major problems over time, with the Hungarian-based RallySimFans (RSF) mod popularising the game thanks to updated visuals, sounds and physics. And it&#;s all free.

But why is it free? Well, technically RBR is abandonware thanks to both its developer, Warthog Games, and the publisher, SCi Games, folding. Additionally, the tragic death of WRC champion Burns a year after the game&#;s release put a sad full stop on the whole complicated saga.

However, RBR&#;s handling is still sublime, with WorkerBee&#;s New Generation Physics (NGP) continually developed to make the most of Warthog&#;s incredibly detailed handling model.

Modders have also added a stack of iconic rally cars and stages to RSF, with clever options like VR compatibility, FMOD sounds, fully working cockpit gauges and customisable pace notes and cameras elevating the experience further.

All in all, RBR is the most comprehensive rally sim out there, so you&#;ve no excuse not to go online now and compete against fellow enthusiasts. Don&#;t forget your bobble hat!

Live for Speed

Live For Speed is now 21 years old but it&#;s still relevant thanks to its timeless physics and recent addition of community-made mods. Although the sim is technically not &#;free&#; it does have an enlightening free demo.

And it contains one of my favourite sim racing combinations ever&#;

Yes, the sim&#;s officially licensed Formula BMW and the fictional Blackwood GP track are an insanely good duo, with the Bavarian-powered single-seater responding to your deft inputs almost telepathically.

Blackwood is also a challenging and fulfilling circuit to learn, featuring fast and medium-speed turns, with a long back straight ideal for slipstreaming battles.

Also available to drive in the demo are the front-wheel-drive XF GTI and the rear-wheel-drive XR GT, and both are a riot to drive. However, to gain more cars and tracks you&#;ll need to purchase an S1, S1 or S3 licence from the LFS website, with the S3 licence unlocking all the game&#;s content plus access to mods.

Although certain aspects of LFS haven&#;t aged well &#; its sounds and graphics are very much showing their age, and game updates arrive at a glacial pace &#; its physics still stand up to scrutiny.

LFS&#; VR implementation is better than many modern titles too and its online racing communities are passionate and varied, with rallycross, casual cruises, autocross, drift and circuit racing events all available.

There&#;s really no excuse not to try LFS, it could be your next favourite sim.

Trackmania

Compatibility: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Luna
Trackmania Club Access 1 Year RRP: £17.99

Ok, it&#;s not a sim like the rest of the titles in this list but Trackmania is one of the most addictive racing games around and it&#;s entirely free-to-play. The gist of the game&#;s formula is to pilot cars at ridiculous speeds along outlandish, point-to-point tracks.

Players can tackle jumps, loops, slides and other obstacles to set their fastest stage times and achieve a gold medal. The online leaderboards give the game a &#;just one more try&#; feel, helped by the prospect of an instant one-button retry.

Paid subscription tiers are available but Trackmania can still be enjoyed without cash, with 25 new free tracks released in each quarterly Season update.

The game also runs well on mid-range PCs as well as consoles, so there&#;s no escaping Trackmania&#;s moreish gameplay.

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