Race Beyond the Track: Discover the Most Stunning Racing Games of 2024

Racing games have consistently been technical marvels on each generation of hardware, with every major console brand boasting its own flagship franchise to showcase against rivals. In 2024, the diversity of racing games is unparalleled, offering something for every thrill-seeker.

The allure of the racing genre lies in its versatility. Whether you’re in the mood for a relaxed lap around the track or a visually stunning experience, options like the immensely popular Mario Kart 8 Deluxe or the breathtaking Forza Horizon 5 await you. For those who seek a more grounded and challenging experience, numerous technical simulation racers cater to varying skill levels, allowing each player to find their ideal match.

Racing games have evolved far beyond simple track laps. Titles like Forza Horizon and The Crew Motorfest let players explore vast open worlds, offering a variety of races on roads that cut through stunning landscapes. Modern gaming hardware elevates this experience further with impressive technical feats, delivering incredibly detailed tracks and vehicles in games like Gran Turismo 7 and Forza Motorsport.

With such an extensive selection available, choosing the standout racing games of 2024 can be overwhelming. We’ve curated a list of top picks, highlighting the finest releases over the past decade that prove a great racing game only gets better with time. For more, be sure to check our picks for the best RPG games.

Forza Horizon 5

• Developer: Playground Games
• Release Date: November 1, 2021
• Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC

With the Horizon series, developer Playground Games took the simulator racing roots of the Xbox-exclusive racing series and transformed it into one of the most dynamic and exciting open-world arcade racers on the market. Since its inception, Forza Horizon has repeatedly set new benchmarks for high-octane racing with gorgeous and varied vistas, and the fifth entry doesn’t miss a beat. Taking place in a fictional amalgamation of various parts of Mexico, Forza Horizon 5 never takes a breath after dropping you into an active volcano to kick off a packed festival of furious racing fun. As a bonus, you can potentially play it for free, as it’s on Game Pass.

Forza Motorsport (2023)

• Developer: Turn 10 Studios
• Release Date: October 10, 2023
• Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PC

On the other side of the Forza coin, Forza Motorsport (also on Game Pass) is a return to the series that started it all, with the latest entry in 2023 representing a reboot of sorts after a long time off for the franchise. Unlike Horizon, this is a gritty, grounded simulation racer, albeit with a range of settings to let you tune the experience to both your liking and experience level. Coupled with a compelling upgrade system that brings you closer to the machines you’re throwing around some of the most iconic racetracks around the world, there’s no question that the time off has helped produce something special in the long-running series.

Gran Turismo 7

• Developer: Polyphony Digital
• Release Date: March 4, 2022
• Platforms: PS5, PS4

Few games celebrate cars in a way that Gran Turismo has over its storied history on the PlayStation. Some of your earliest memories might be of struggling through license challenges or experiencing the slower-paced racing of this series on earlier PlayStation consoles, fostering a fondness for the beauty of the cars on show in the process. Gran Turismo 7 hasn’t strayed too far away from that established formula, but it’s still every bit the modern simulation racing experience you would want without losing any of its charm.

F1 23

• Developer: Codemasters
• Release Date: April 28, 2023
• Platforms: PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC

Formula 1 is the pinnacle of racing, so it’s welcome that its video game analogue is no less an exhilarating experience for fans of all types of the sport. On the one hand F1 23 features a wealth of features that very accurately portray the feeling of being a Formula 1 driver, with the ability to juggle all the options available to you as you try to keep all four tires on the track as you shave seconds off each of your lap times. But it’s also an approachable racing experience, too, with well thought-out tutorials, racing aides, and various race formats to let you experience the parts of F1 that interest you most without the baggage of those that don’t. In an age where the sport is reaching a significantly larger audience, you can’t go wrong here.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

• Developer: Nintendo
• Release Date: April 28, 2017
• Platforms: Nintendo Switch

There’s not much that can be said about Mario Kart 8 Deluxe that hasn’t already. Ported to the Nintendo Switch from the struggling Wii U, this has been the consistent seller for the hybrid system, racking up a frankly ridiculous number of sales since launch. And it’s not hard to see why. Its approachable but deep kart racing is fun for all ages, its colorful and fun aesthetic bringing all of Nintendo’s biggest characters into one place where they aren’t punching each other in the face. It’s a game that has been well supported with post-launch content too, making it a bounty of racing riches that will endure for years to come.

Wipeout Omega Collection

• Developer: XDev
• Release Date: June 6, 2017
• Platforms: PS4

We might never get another Wipeout game again, especially with its main developer having closed its doors, but if the Omega Collection is the last we’ll see of this futuristic racer, then it’s a powerful note to go out on. Collecting three remastered games in the series–the PS3’s Wipeout HD and Fury HD, and the PS Vita’s highly underrated Wipeout 2048–it’s a package filled to the brim with exhilarating, fast-paced racing content, which looks absolutely spectacular on the still today PlayStation 5 thanks to a blisteringly fast frame rate and art direction that never ages. Its thumping techno soundtrack only accentuates a bygone era of Sony history, and one that many fans are eager for the publisher to return to at some point.

Trackmania

• Developer: Nadeo
• Release Date: July 1, 2020
• Platforms: PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC

When you think of the purest form of racing, it’s likely games that take place on real tracks with hyper-realistic real cars. Trackmania is neither of those two, with toy-like racers zooming around complex tracks akin to Hot Wheels plastic circuits come to life. And yet it demands a level of skill and focus that you’ll struggle to find elsewhere. This free-to-play title from Ubisoft homes in on the best parts of racing, where small but critical decisions can help you shave off tenths of a second in the pursuit of the perfect lap time. Coupled with regular seasons filled with new content, and Trackmania might just be the best racing game you just haven’t tried yet.

The Crew Motorfest

• Developer: Ivory Tower
• Release Date: September 11, 2023
• Platforms: PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC

Ubisoft has long been chasing the success of Forza Horizon, with its series of open-world racers slowly changing from more RPG-style racing to the same exhilarating arcade action of Microsoft’s premier title. Ubisoft’s take That formula has never been better than in The Crew Motorfest, with Ubisoft finally nailing a driving model that feels extremely fun to engage with, whether it’s through windy corners across its Hawaiian-inspired streets or via air and sea in its varied roster of vehicles to commandeer. Its festival format is a bit on the nose when comparing it to its inspirations, and the always-online component is still somewhat irksome, but you can’t fault it when considering the amount of content Ubisoft keeps adding to this blossoming racer.

Hotshot Racing

• Developer: Lucky Mountain Games, Sumo Digital
• Release Date: September 10, 2020
• Platforms: PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC

Harkening back to the days of simpler arcade racers, Hotshot Racing trades in picture-perfect details for chunky, low-poly vehicles; bright, vibrantly colored tracks; and a driving model that would never survive the scrutiny of real-world physics. It’s a racer that lives and dies on its combination of blistering boosts and slingshot drifting, taking inspiration from the likes of Burnout, Split Second, and more. It’s a racer that’s tough to put down once you start exploring its high skill ceiling, and still one of the best to bring out when you’re looking for some of the best split-screen racing action out there.

Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed Collection

• Developer: Sumo Digital
• Release Date: November 16, 2012
• Platforms: Xbox 360, PS3, PC, Wii U

If you pretend that the early ’90s console wars never concluded, then you might look at Sonic and All-Stars Racings as the natural competitor to Nintendo’s Mario Kart. And it in fact is just that in 2024, with a striking similarity in format and presentation. But don’t confuse this as an inferior knockoff; Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed Collection is an equally exhilarating arcade racers, with a robust roster of Sega characters, inventive tracks, transforming vehicles, and all the power-ups you desire to turn races on their heads in the blink of an eye. If you’re not invested in Nintendo’s consoles, crave another Mario Kart-like experience, or love Sega, this is a great option.

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered

• Developer: Stellar Entertainment
• Release Date: November 6, 2020
• Platforms: Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch, PC

It’s a remaster of a remake of a game that truly started it all for Need for Speed, which might sound like too many dips back into the same well for its own good. But Hot Pursuit remains one of, if not the, best Need for Speed title in more than two decades. Developed by former Burnout developer Criterion Games, this reels back the series into the classic cops vs. racer roots, with blindingly fast street racers punctuated with tricky law enforcement pursuits. It’s got the classic multiplayer modes back too, where you can take on the role of either the hunter or the hunted and use your racing wits to trap or evade your foe. With this remaster comes some improved visual fidelity, cross-play support, and all previously released DLC, letting you experience the fast-paced fun all over again on today’s latest hardware.

Burnout Paradise Remastered

• Developer: Criterion, Stellar Entertainment
• Release Date: March 16, 2018; June 19, 2020 (Nintendo Switch)
• Platforms: Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch, PC

Speaking of some of the best from Criterion, it would be a crime not to mention another remaster of arguably its best game to date. Burnout will be fondly remembered for entries such as Burnout 3 and Burnout Revenge, but it’s Burnout Paradise that stands head and shoulders above the rest. This open-world racer achieved so much before Playground Games refined the formula in the years after, with a delightfully varied and highly destructible sandbox for you to zip through in some of the series’ fast fictional cars. It’s a game that brought together all of the series’ trademark features into a highly replayable package that stands the test of time thanks to a recent remaster, letting you reminisce on the glory days of this studio while longing for a return to the franchise that put them on the map.

iRacing

• Developer: iRacing
• Release Date: August 26, 2009
• Platforms: PC

If you’ve stuck to simulation racing games that exist predominantly in the wider consumer space, then it’s likely you haven’t heard of iRacing before. Which is a shame, considering how accurate and life-like the simulation racing game is, enduring as one of the go-to options for serious racing fans for nearly two decades. The subscription model has helped the game continually grow over the years, expanding to over 100 cars and tracks that have been meticulously recreated using advanced LIDaR scanning. It’s a game that won’t be to everyone’s taste, with its focus on realism and high difficulty as a result. But for the purists out there, and those looking to venture into a more serious racing format, it’s a staple that can’t be ignored.

Assetto Corsa Competizione

• Developer: KUNOS-Simulazioni Srl
• Release Date: September 12, 2018
• Platforms: PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC

Assetto Corsa has been a mainstay in the simulation racing community, and its latest interaction in Competizione has found a great deal of success now that it’s on consoles. The series prides itself in the recreation of the popular GT Racing games, as well as hosting a large variety of racing formats that you can choose from for offline or online play. Its hyper-detailed driving model simulates a variety of racing conditions, with detailed physics models for aerodynamics and tire properties accentuating the highly technical racing on track. The series has been so impressive in its racing recreation that the FIA selected it as a replacement for Gran Turismo 7 in its 2022 FIA Motorsport Games Esports Cup, which should give you a strong indication of its exceptional racing quality.

Project Cars 2

• Developer: Slightly Mad Studios
• Release Date: September 21, 2017
• Platforms:PS4, Xbox One, PC

Slightly Mad Studios made a name for itself with the debut of Project Cars, a racer that skirted the line between arcade and simulation racing that is so prevalent in the market today. Project Cars 2 is an improvement in every way, with a highly accurate driving model that skews more towards simulation, supported by dynamic track conditions that alter temperature for you and your tires to contend with, as well as strategic pit stops to keep races exciting. It’s a pity that this was followed up by a completely different type of game in Project Cars 3, which moved strongly towards more arcade-style action at the expense of what made this series so exceptional in the first place. And given that it would be the last in the series, it’s at least fortunate that Project Cars 2 and its community still remains lively to this day.