For anyone looking forward to the latest on their yearly derbys and championships, here’s our list of fifteen racing games to look forward to.
1. FIA European Truck Racing Championship on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Switch
We’ve seen all kinds of racing games from stock cars to F1s. You know what we don’t get enough of? TRUCKS. And if you think this is a joke, you’d be wrong. The FIA European Truck Racing Championship is a legit AF brand complete with real-life tracks, trucks, and racers.
In this installment, you’ll hopefully get to meet them all. Drive the big boys through 5 singleplayer modes, and 3 multiplayer modes, as the Championship’s 20 best teams. A whole new experience for racing fans, it’s coming out on the PC and consoles this July.
2. MXGP 2019 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One
It’s another year, and another title for all you moto fans out there. While it’s always a happy day to be getting a new moto title, these days, MXGP hasn’t exactly had the best reputation. When it comes to graphics, their latest gameplay preview is looking pretty good.
However, fans have been waiting on MXGP to put more focus on the much awaited ruts feature. It doesn’t look they’ve improved too much on that regard. If you’re a player on PC, PS4, and Xbox One you’ll have to wait and see this August 27th.
3. WRC 8 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One
After skipping 2018, the official game for the World Rally Championship is back. What with the not-so awesome ratings of their last game, WRC 8 is under a lot of pressure to perform.
From the looks of the trailer, it’s good, with visuals that border on realism. With every racing game hitting the mark on those terms, it’s hard to see how WRC is going to compete. It’s one of the main criticisms of the series: it doesn’t quite measure up to the rest in the rally game market. Hopefully, with dynamic weather systems and improved career modes, this comeback will prove well worth the investment. It’s coming out on PC and consoles on Sep 3rd, 2019.
4. NASCAR Heat 4 on PS4, PC, and Xbox One
There’s a new NASCAR Heat title coming and honestly the expectations aren’t high. Monster Games is still handling this installment and in the first look, we can definitely see a lot of improvements on the graphics side.
What most people are wondering though is if the improvements stretch out beyond face value and into the physics too--one of the primary gripes against the NASCAR series. Where accuracy is concerned, we know HEAT 4 is gonna bring us the best in NASCAR racing and its coming on Sep 13th, 2019.
5. GRID on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One
While we're on the subject of comebacks, here’s a good one. This will be the latest entry to the TOCA subseries, with the last title being GRID: Autosport way back in 2014. The good news is Codemasters is still heading this production, so the expectations are pretty high, especially with the moderate success of the previous installment.
Grid will be developed under the consultation of famed Formula One racer, Fernanando Alonso, and will feature cars from GT Le Mans. Codemasters are one of the racing masters, and we're looking forward to another title that balances accessibility and realism on the PC, PS4, and Xbox One this October 11th.
6. Overpass on PC, Xbox One, PS4, and Nintendo Switch
The racing game that takes ‘all-terrain’ in its literal form. Drive on water? Sure. How about a stack of logs? No problem. Overpass has it covered. Make a deal with nature as you take control a number of buggies in a quest to finish a number of course s in a short time. Sounds easy, but you have to consider the game’s realistic physics and multiple pathways.
With over 20 vehicles to choose from and 40 demanding tracks, things are about to get real challenging when you realize that there are roads that you couldn’t really travel. Coming this 15th of October on the PC, X1, PS4 and Switch.
7. Pacer on Xbox One and PlayStation 4
This is a far cry from the other, more realism-based titles on this list but its beautiful nonetheless.Pacer doesn't deal with cars or the laws of physics. Instead, it's got a lot more creative freedom, bringing us the thrills of anti-gravity racing.
Fly off into the future of 2075 and customize your own hovercraft to race smoothly along their 6 race modes and 8 different tracks. Unlike realistic racing that relies on skill, Pacer adds another layer of competition with weapons like energy bolts, mines, and so much more.
It's leaving its PC Early Access roots as Formula Fusion, Pacer is officially coming out sometime this year with free updates for existing Steam users and a first entry to the PS4 and Xbox One.
8. Electro Ride
This game's fighting against an image of a gray Russia with an alternate history set in a neon-filled Moscow. Electro Ride isn't hiding its arcade-ness from anyone. There's a pretty elaborate backstory at play here where you'll get to ride through a still socialist Eastern Bloc padded with 80s pinks and purples.
It's all about the night races in Electro Ride, and you get to choose between carving your path in night racing championships, breaking your own records, or challenging friends for the high scores. If you're in any way interested in neon and bringing down the capitalist underbelly of socialist moscow, you can look forward to this game on your PCs sometime in 2019.
9. Need For Speed 2019 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One
Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the NFS franchise, things are about to get more heated as the anarchic street racers continue their shenanigans. It’s unfortunate that they weren’t around at this year’s E3, but hey, at least we know the game is finally confirmed.
Prepare to piss off more cops as a street racer that aims to revitalise the disparity between these two groups in an eternal urban conflict. Too bad that’s the only thing we know about this game. No news about its release date yet, but their aiming for sometime in 2019.
10. Circuit Superstars on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One
Circuit Superstars dips us into the beauty of arcade racing. Arcade as it is though, it's nothing to snub your nose at, especially since it's been described by engadget as the "Forza" microracing. Engagdet also likened its top-down perspective and cartoon visuals to Codemasters' Micromachines. While the last Micromachines didn't do so hot, Circuit Superstars is shaping up pretty well.
Already it seems more graphically advanced. Its physics looks promising than most, and its gameplay that includes PvP and pit stop management is enticing to say the least. If you're excited, you can hopefully find on PC and console stores in 2020.
11. TT Isle Of Man 2 on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One
One of the most dangerous sporting events in the world gets another installment to their motorsport racing title. This time, they’re trying to live up to its reputation. In this latest entry, the devs promised that anyone can finally get a real taste of what riders pull off during these courses.
There’s not enough details as of the moment. The game’s main focus is improving the ‘riding experience’. Unfortunately, no release date yet. However, there will be more info in the coming months since the game is scheduled to come out this 2020.
12. Gran Turismo 7
One of the granddaddy’s of Sony’s racing scene is back, but there’s still so much stuff to do before we get to taste burnt rubber. There’s really not much information about this game yet, but rumors are buzzing saying that this title will be coming out on the PlayStation 5 as a launch title.
Polyphony, the developers, are still hard at work creating additional content for Gran Turismo Sport, so it’s gonna be awhile before we get our hands on this elusive GT7. No release date yet.
13. Project CARS 3 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One
Yes, this beautiful-looking motorsport racing simulator is still getting a threequel, and it’s looking pretty ambitious so far.
Still very early in pre-production, Slightly Mad Studios promises a more focused and fun driving experience compared to the seriousness of most of the racing games on this list. They’re not taking the sandbox element of their previous games but it is shifting to something promising that their ‘simulator’ genre can handle.
Too bad there aren’t any gameplay footage or trailers available at the moment and obviously no release date yet.
14. GTR 3
After months of development silence, the guys and girls at Simbin Studios’ is back into business with their next racing installment. Running on the Unreal Engine 4, expect the visuals to completely blow you away.
Aside from its huge graphical overhaul, the game’s day to night transition is as dynamic as ever with environmental effects that will test your skills on the road. GTR 3 still continues the tradition of including official licenses, which means better and expensive cars are gonna show up anytime soon. The game has no release date yet.
15. Drift19
Every racing game is a direct competition to the other titles sharing the same set of rules Drift19 tries to up their ante in this realistic and serious drifting simulator.
Putting into focus the history of what “Drift” really means, ready yourself as you customize classic drift cars and tune them to perfection.
Compete in various challenges and events as you flex your hard-earned machine and put them into the dusty tracks. It has enough customizable features so spending hours and hours in the garage is no surprise. No release date yet, but it’s coming to the PC soon.