The best racing games for PC come in all shapes and sizes. You can go from the ultra-realistic simulators to the sublimely artistic, with a quick stop-off at the chaos of a kart racer.
Just because the likes of Gran Turismo 7 and Mario Kart World aren’t available on PC, it doesn’t mean you have to compromise on your experience. We’ve used our experience to put together a list of the best PC racing games in 2026. So whether you’ve already got a full cockpit setup, a basic beginner wheel, or still love to go racing with a controller, we’ve got you covered. For us, racing games can’t be ignoring when talking about the best PC games.
Here are the best racing games on PC in 2026:
1. iRacing
iRacing is rapidly approaching its 20th birthday, but thanks to its incredible ongoing development and evolution over time, it holds the number one spot in our list of the top racing games for 2026 despite an onslaught of contenders. This is a pure simulation of racing that delivers at every turn. From the way weight shifts under braking to how the tyres grip up and cry right at the edge, it’s as close to real life as you can get in a sim racing title. iRacing even added full wet-weather simulation in 2024, which only extended its lead against other sims. Just be wary of getting too close to an opponent, as the netcode is notoriously fickle.
This isn’t a game for the faint of heart, as it’s a pure PvP experience with no career mode or racing against the CPU. While controllers are supported, the physics are so realistic that you need one of the best PC racing wheels to get the most out of it. You also need some money, as iRacing runs on a subscription model ($13pm) with DLC packages. If you wanted every single track and car available, it would run you more than $2,000, but don’t worry, you don’t need everything to enjoy what iRacing offers.
The subscription starts you off in Rookie Class with 29 laser-scanned tracks, including road and off-road tracks (and oval layouts of both). From there, you can add on whichever cars and tracks you want. But you don’t need to. The Rookie Class MX5s offer an amazing experience, letting you dance on the edge of grip and battle just as hard as if you were in a Mercedes W13 at Spa-Francorchamps. Escaping the somewhat chaotic Rookie Class can be tricky, but practice makes perfect with iRacing, so be ready to sink hour after hour into it.
2. Forza Horizon 6
At the other end of the spectrum from iRacing (nearly) lies Forza Horizon 6. This approachable arcade racer lets you zoom your way through a huge Japanese open world map of 56 square miles. You can race from the narrow alleys of Tokyo to the snowy Japanese mountains and back in more than 550 cars. While it’s an arcade racer at heart, not even trees are a problem for you in this one; you can tune for everything from drifting to drag racing, with enough variety in the racing to engage even the most cynical car-hater.
Playground Games did the unthinkable with Forza Horizon 6, reacting to a lot of the criticism of the last two instalments of the franchise and utilising many of the slower, earn-it mechanics of the early games that drove the franchise to success in the first place. Much of the FOMO and hyperspeed progression that plagued Forza Horizon 4 & 5 is gone, replaced with the wristband system that lets you enjoy slower and more technical races before you get to create 300mph monsters that can fly across the map.
There are XP boards to smash, regional mascots to discover, and races against bullet trains to enjoy in this one, which offers fantastic single-player gameplay and a joyful multiplayer experience that can be as serious or playful as you and your friends want to make it. Forza Horizon 5 is still available to buy, and while we won’t be including it on this list, it is definitely worth your time to play too. But Forza Horizon 6 is a meaningful step forward both in its improved handling and its more deliberate pacing.
3. Le Mans Ultimate
After a rough year-plus in early access, Le Mans Ultimate (LMU) hit full release in July 2025 and has had quite the journey up until now. As the official game of the World Endurance Championship (WEC), LMU lets you enjoy hypercars, LMP2s, and GT3s all on the same track at iconic venues like Le Mans, Spa, and Fuji.
The multiclass & endurance racing on LMU is the standout feature that makes it a worthy addition to the sim racing genre. While you can do races against a field of AI drivers, like other sims, it shines online, where driver rating and safety rating systems help keep the lobbies clean and fun. LMU’s force feedback is exceptional, with cars feeling alive at the edge of grip. You can lean into corners more and truly feel the sharp edge of new tires compared to the dull slide of worn rubber.
The base game is competitively priced at $39.99 on Steam at the time of writing, and includes seven circuits. DLC packs add more tracks and updated cars, but there are still plenty of lobbies to jump into on the base tracks. Despite iRacing still being the home of online racing, LMU’s player base is loyal and big enough to get a good grid together at any level.
4. Assetto Corsa Competizione
Kunos Simulazioni ended development for Assetto Corsa Competizione (ACC) at the end of 2025, but it remains a firm favorite. It is the official GT World Challenge game, which means it focuses exclusively on GT cars and, as a result, gives you a superb sense of weight and momentum as you thunder your 1.5-ton machine around the world’s most famous circuits.
Like the other sim titles, ACC uses a DLC model to add tracks and cars to the base game, but you can start with 11 laser-scanned tracks that include Spa, Silverstone, Monza, and the Nurburgring GP. Additions include Watkins Glen, Laguna Seca, Imola, COTA, and the full Nurburgring Nordschleife.
ACC does offer an offline career mode along with some offline challenges that range from hotlaps to timed stints, but it once again shines online. With GT2 and GT4 cars available through DLC packs, there is multiclass racing, but it’s of a lower magnitude than either iRacing or LMU offers. You can also do endurance races on ACC, with a full 24-hour day-night cycle and dry-wet transitions. ACC offers better graphics than iRacing or LMU, which is a big appeal for plenty of players. It’s also more controller-friendly than either of its sim-racing competitors.
5. F1 25 + 2026 Season Pack
Formula 1 is the world’s favorite motorsport, so you just knew the F1 game was going to feature on this list. EA Sports decided against a standalone F1 game this year, instead dropping a DLC for F1 25 that adds plenty of new content, while keeping the core game the same. The 2026 Season Pack doesn’t hold back. You get the all-new cars with the controversial hybrid powertrains, energy management mechanics to maximize your pace, and active aero packages rather than DRS. There’s also the addition of the Audi and Cadillac teams to the grid and the new Madring circuit.
F1 offers the best single-player offline career mode in racing, as you can play through season after season as a real-world driver or add yourself behind the wheel of an existing team. Or you can create a new team, design the livery and race suits, manage sponsorships, and hire a teammate before jumping behind the wheel for race day.
Online racing in F1 games can get a little dicey, as the popularity of the sport brings a few more rammers and griefers into it, but the ranking system runs on dual speed and safety ratings, so you can reach cleaner lobbies eventually. It’s also extremely playable with a controller. While the ultimate pace comes from a wheel & pedal setup, you can still be very fast with a controller as the simulation physics are less complex and there is a suite of assists that can help you control the cars.
6. Wreckfest 2
We’re back to the arcade side of racing with the outrageous Wreckfest 2, which takes the destruction derby vibes of its predecessor and turns it up a notch. You’ll race around tracks with crossovers and loops, trying to win while swapping paint and dealing damage to other cars, but there are also all-out destruction events in vehicles ranging from hatchbacks to school buses.
Because of the destruction on offer, there are no licensed cars here, but you’ll recognize a lot of the models on offer, from classic Dodge Chargers to VW Golfs. Wreckfest 2 is technically still an early access game but is getting regular content updates and improvements from THQ Nordic in everything from the cars on offer to the handling as it moves toward full release.
The game is best enjoyed with a controller, but that doesn’t mean the physics and handling are basic. Picking your way through bodywork and wrecked cars is a challenge, and you can feel the impact of damaged suspension or beaten-up bodywork as you try to limp to the finish line. It’s the perfect way to blow off steam or just enjoy some destruction with friends where the ultimate winners are the ones who survive, not just the one who hits the finish line first.
7. Dirt Rally 2.0
Rally is undoubtedly the hardest racing genre to master, but no game does it quite like DiRT Rally 2.0. Codemasters’ Magnus Opus dropped in 2019 and is still the best rally game that anyone can pick up and play today. While its list of cars and stages isn’t as extensive as some others, its physics, handling, and the way it delivers co-driver pace notes are leagues ahead.
Snow, ice, gravel, and tarmac surfaces provide distinct and predictable feedback if you use a direct-drive wheel, while FWD, RWD, and 4WD cars all behave as they should. Flying down a narrow, tree-lined stage is thrilling and nerve-wracking, with your pace notes the only thing standing between you and a dozen barrel rolls.
The Game of the Year Edition on Steam is just $39.99 and includes four seasons’ worth of add-ons plus the Colin McRae FlatOut DLC pack. As with all rally sims, this is best enjoyed in a full sim rig. That means not only a wheel and pedals, but a rigid frame rig, ideally with a handbrake, shifter, and clutch pedal. You can certainly play it on a controller or just with a basic wheel and pedal setup, but it will be much harder to be fast and avoid disaster.
8. Assetto Corsa Evo
The long-awaited sequel to Assetto Corsa has had a rocky road since it launched in early access in January 2025. Kunos Simulazioni has brought all its years of knowledge and experience to bear here, delivering a superb driving simulation that improves on the original AC title through its handling and physics. Kunos has poured a lot of effort into improving the tyre model, which lets you sense the edge of grip much better than in the original AC.
But if that’s the case, why is it not higher? Well, Assetto Corsa Evo is only just starting to get hammered into shape. It still lacks many key features like driver safety ratings, and the promised career mode has been outright cancelled. The much-anticipated open world freeroam around the Nordschleife is also yet to appear, which has been a huge frustration.
Underneath all of the disappointment, though, is a quality simulation experience with arguably the best VR performance you can get right now. It also takes graphics seriously, which can be a rarity for true sim racing games and is more a preserve of the arcade side of the game. Kunos is still pumping out updates, with new cars and tracks being added regularly along with improvements to temperature modeling, weather, and multiplayer stability. It’s not the iRacing challenger we all wanted it to be, but it might be one day. And if the free roam portion of the game ever arrives, it will fly up this list.
9. EA Sports WRC
While EA Sports WRC can’t quite match DiRT Rally 2.0 for handling or surface physics, it offers plenty in its own right. As the official World Rally Championship game, there is a huge range of locations, stages, and cars to enjoy. You can take the modern Rally1 hybrid cars for a spin through Kenya or get behind the wheel of the brutal Group B monsters from the 80s.
EA Sports WRC offers more than 1,200 miles of drivable stages and 78 cars at launch, with season DLC packs lifting those numbers if that isn’t enough. The career mode lets you start out in the Junior WRC class in a Rally3 Ford Fiesta, before you work your way up the ranks by improving your team through resource management and personnel upgrades.
EA Sports WRC is more forgiving to controller players, though the lighter handling can be a little tricky to get a feel for early on. But like any sim racer, you’ll get the most from it behind the wheel.
10. Trackmania
Trackmania takes time trialing to a whole new level. It combines ultra-fast cars with precision driving and creativity to produce a white-knuckle challenge for any online racer. You’ll need to drift, slide, and take corkscrew flips to win races and climb the leaderboards of the millions of tracks that are available.
Trackmania can practically run on a toaster and only needs a controller, but still requires a huge degree of skill to squeeze every last millisecond out as you are trying to negotiate sweeping curves at 400 km/h. It’s free to play, with most of what you need coming as part of that package. You get a campaign mode, basic online matchmaking, and a simplified version of the track builder without having to part with a cent.
If you want more, it comes as part of Club Access, which will set you back $19.99 per year. This gives you access to everything: a full campaign, community servers, and the advanced track creator that will let you build the layout of your dreams. While there’s no wheel-to-wheel contact, as you race against ghosted opponents, the tension and feel of speed of Trackmania is unrivaled.
11. Art of Rally
Not every rally game has to demand a full sim rig, high-end graphics cards, and nerves of steel. This is where Art of Rally comes in, offering low-polygon, old-school graphics and a more arcade feel with its top-down style. This game takes atmosphere seriously, with stunning settings that lean into the minimalist artistic style as you slide through corners. The soundtrack creates a calm, contemplative environment that clashes beautifully with the tense action as you try to stay on the narrow stage.
Art of Rally is a controller-based game, but that doesn’t mean the physics and handling are lacking. You can maintain drifts, hit hard handbrake turns, and take death-defying jumps, all while a crowd of onlookers jumps out of the way at the last second. It offers a range of legendary rally cars, from the Lancia Stratos and Audi Quattro to the Subaru Impreza and Mitsubishi Lancer Evo, for you to enjoy. You can take all of them around global stages that are inspired by classic rally locations like Japan, Scandinavia, and Kenya, and even enjoy large free roam areas where you can hone your skills or just enjoy the atmosphere.
It’s a love letter to the golden age of rallying, and one that is far more approachable and beginner-friendly than the more highly ranked rally titles on this list. It’s also a rare breed as it’s a high-quality but totally self-funded and small-scale indie racing game.
12. The Crew: Motorfest
The Crew franchise has desperately been trying to fight Forza Horizon and just can’t quite hit the same heights, but if you’re looking for something a little different from that franchise, then The Crew: Motorfest is for you. This is a big, flashy triple-A title from Ubisoft, set on the Hawaiian islands of O’ahu and Maui. It drops you into a festival of speed but isn’t just limited to road cars, as you can enjoy boats, planes, motorbikes, and even a Red Bull Racing-liveried F1-style open-wheeler.
It combines a lot of what Forza Horizon does well with some of the vibes of recent Need For Speed games, but with its own flair and Ubisoft style, like smooth sliding transitions to different camera angles rather than sharp jumps.
The open world map offers you playlists to try out, but you are also free to explore and discover for yourself. Handling is a solid upgrade from The Crew 2, with a more realistic feel right on the edge of grip that lets you catch a slide and sense the surface beneath you. You can also import your garage over from The Crew 2 or opt to start fresh, which is a nice touch.
13. Sonic Racing: Crossworlds
Every kart racer sits in the shadow of Mario Kart, and it makes the genre a strange one for PC gamers. But you aren’t left totally out in the cold thanks to SEGA and Sonic Racing: Crossworlds.
This wacky racer combines karts, power-ups, and all your favorite Sonic characters with some excellent track designs to bring you a burst of joy unlike any other PC racing game. You need to collect rings, hit air tricks, and drift your way around corners to go faster, and of course, try to avoid the chaos of other players.
It supports local and online multiplayer for that classic PvP experience. Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds offers steer assists for younger players, and its five different levels of AI speed allow for a more flexible experience than every other kart racer out there. It doesn’t deliver the same variety of weapons or thrills as Mario Kart, but it comes close and is as good as you can get on PC in 2026.
14. Kart Racing Pro
Developed by a one-man team and launched nearly a decade ago, Kart Racing Pro offers an ultra-realistic karting experience with exceptional VR support. It’s meant more as a training tool than a racing game, and offers no AI opponents or a career mode, but the online PvP racing is fierce when you can find a race. It supports controllers and even a mouse and keyboard, but it is best enjoyed with a rigid sim rig. This is because, despite the solo development, it offers a level of karting simulation that few other games can match.
Chassis flex and marble generation are both tailored specifically to karting, giving a unique feel compared to other games that try to do karts. There is even wet weather that dries dynamically, creating a train-track dry line to try to follow. Unfortunately, there are only a handful of karts and tracks available in the base game. There are a lot of community-made mods that add new karts and locations but if you aren’t comfortable with that you’re left with a great piece of simulation software for hotlapping but minimal wheel-to-wheel racing opportunities.
Despite being the gateway for every aspiring Formula 1 World Champion, karting simulator titles lag far behind the combat kart racing in terms of popularity and optionality. But, if you want a standalone kart sim rather than a bolt-on package to a bigger sim racing game, look no further than Kart Racing Pro.
There you have it, the best racing games on PC. Just as we mentioned in the intro, we highly recommend checking out our list of the best racing wheels you can use on PC to take your driving experience to the next level. Before you leave, we also have a list of the best PC games if you want to get away from the pedals for a bit.
