Best Sim Racing Games 2026: PC, PS5 and Xbox Ranked

The best sim racing game in 2026 is iRacing if you want serious online racing and can live with a subscription. Le Mans Ultimate is the best racing sim for endurance and prototypes, Assetto Corsa Competizione is still the GT3 benchmark, and on PS5 the answer is Gran Turismo 7. Below is my full ranking, then the best pick for each platform and each budget.

Checked on 15 October 2026 against the US Steam store pages and Steam announcement feeds of every PC game listed, the iRacing membership page on iracing.com, the US PlayStation Store pages for Gran Turismo 7, Assetto Corsa Competizione and F1 25, and the US Xbox store page for Forza Motorsport. Prices are US list prices on that date. Where a fact only comes from the press, I say so.

A word on how I rank. I judge a sim on four things: how believable the physics and tyre model are on paper, what the force feedback is built from, how the online racing is organised, and how much licensed, current content you get. I have not driven every one of these games, so the verdicts below are judgments on what each studio publishes, not lap time stories.

The ranking at a glance

BeamNG.drive is not in the ranking. It is a soft-body physics sandbox, not a racing sim, and I cover it at the end.

1. iRacing

If you want structured online racing, this is the one. Official races run on a fixed schedule, you are split by iRating, and your Safety Rating decides which licence class you race in. No other game on this list runs its whole online side on a fixed timetable with ratings and licences like this.

The price model is the catch. On iracing.com the membership is $14.75 for one month, $37.50 for three months, $124.50 for a year and $222.50 for two years at regular price, and new memberships were 30% off when I checked. That includes 32 cars and 29 tracks. Everything else is bought car by car and track by track. Through Steam the subscription is $11.59 for the first month, then $15.99 a month. I break the real cost down in what iRacing costs per year.

Verdict: the best racing sim for racing against people. Not the cheapest, and Windows only.

Start here: iRacing beginner guide and the iRacing car list.

2. Le Mans Ultimate

Le Mans Ultimate is the official game of the FIA World Endurance Championship, built by Studio 397 on the rFactor 2 engine. It left Early Access on 22 July 2025 and it is moving fast: version 1.4.3 came out on 6 October 2026, and Season 13 of the online championships went live the same day.

If you care about Hypercar, LMP2, LMGT3, hybrid deployment and driver swaps, nothing else has the licence. The base game is $39.99 on Steam with 19 cars and 7 tracks. The DLC adds up quickly, and there is a RaceControl Pro+ subscription at $13.99 a month that covers all Studio 397 DLC while it is active. The full breakdown is in my Le Mans Ultimate DLC guide.

It is PC only today. Motorsport Games announced a PlayStation and Xbox version in November 2025 with a window of late 2026 to early 2027, and no date. Details in Le Mans Ultimate on PS5.

Verdict: the best sim for endurance racing and prototypes. If you are choosing between this and iRacing, read Le Mans Ultimate vs iRacing.

3. Assetto Corsa Competizione

ACC does one thing. GT racing under the GT World Challenge licence, with GT3, GT4, GT2 and a few cup cars. It does that thing very well, and its weather, tyre and night racing still set the bar for GT cars.

It costs $39.99 on Steam. On PS5 the US store sells the 2024 Pack for $39.99, which bundles the base game with the GT2 Pack and the 24h Nürburgring Pack. It is also on Xbox Series.

Know what you are buying. The last Steam announcement for ACC was a 2025 liveries pack on 22 December 2025, and KUNOS's attention is on Assetto Corsa EVO. ACC is a finished product, not a growing one.

Verdict: the best GT3 sim, and the best serious sim you can buy on PS5 or Xbox. Start with the ACC beginner guide and the ACC cars list.

4. Automobilista 2

AMS2 is the sim with the widest spread of cars: karts, historic Formula cars, Stock Cars from Brazil, GT, prototypes. Reiza is still updating it hard. Version 1.6.9.96 went live on 18 September 2026, after a September 2026 development update.

It is $39.99 on Steam and PC only. Online is mostly lobbies and leagues, without the rating system iRacing and LMU use.

Verdict: the best pick if you want variety in one game and you mostly race offline or in leagues. See the AMS2 car list and my AMS2 review.

5. Assetto Corsa (the original, with mods)

The 2014 Assetto Corsa is still $19.99 on Steam, and it is still the cheapest serious sim you can buy. The game itself has not changed in years. Its value is the mod scene: thousands of community cars and tracks, plus community tools that rebuild the graphics and the online side. Those tools are not made by KUNOS, so quality varies from mod to mod.

Verdict: the best value in sim racing if you are happy to spend time sorting mods. Start with the Assetto Corsa cars list and how to add custom cars.

6. Gran Turismo 7

GT7 is the best racing game on PlayStation, and it has a rated online mode (Sport Mode, with Driver Rating and Sportsmanship Rating). It is $69.99 on the US PlayStation Store for PS5 and PS4, and online play needs PS Plus, with up to 20 players per race.

The physics are a step below the PC sims on this list, and the car list leans road cars and Gr.3 and Gr.4 racers rather than real championships. But nothing on console comes close to its car count and polish.

Verdict: the best sim racing game on PS5 if you do not own a PC. See the GT7 car list and GT7 beginner tips. For wheels, I cover the best PS5 wheels.

7. Assetto Corsa EVO

EVO is KUNOS's new sim, the successor to the 2014 Assetto Corsa. It has been in Steam Early Access since 16 January 2025. The current build is 0.9.1 (1 September 2026), which followed a new tyre model for GT and cup slicks in 0.9. It is $39.99 and lists 75 cars and 19 circuits.

There is no 1.0 date, Free Roam is still waiting for update 0.10, and a console version is planned with no date. The full status is in my Assetto Corsa EVO guide.

Verdict: buy it if you want to follow a sim as it gets built. If you want a finished GT3 game today, ACC vs EVO explains why ACC still wins.

8. RaceRoom

RaceRoom is free to download on Steam, with some free cars and tracks, and everything else sold as paid content. It is still live: R3E posts a weekly "This Week in RaceRoom" update and the last patch was on 11 September 2026.

Verdict: the best way to try a real sim for $0. See the free RaceRoom cars and my RaceRoom review.

9. rFactor 2

rFactor 2 is $29.99 on Steam, and its physics engine is the base Le Mans Ultimate is built on. But the last Steam announcement from Studio 397 was on 4 March 2025, when the 2024/2025 Formula E car was added for free. Studio 397 has not said it has stopped. It just has not announced anything since.

Verdict: strong for leagues and mods that still run on it. For a new player in 2026, Le Mans Ultimate is where the studio's work is going. See the rFactor 2 cars list.

10. F1 25

There is no F1 26. EA announced in November 2025 that F1 25 would get a paid 2026 season expansion instead, with the next full game in 2027 (reported by VGC and RACER at the time). The 2026 Season Pack came out on 3 June 2026: $24.99 on Steam as an add-on, or $49.99 for the 2026 Season Edition with the base game, on Steam and on the US PlayStation Store.

It is the only game with the current F1 cars, teams and tracks. It is also not a sim in the iRacing sense. Assists, the handling model and the career mode are built for a wider audience.

Verdict: the one to buy for Formula 1, on any platform. My F1 25 setups cover every track. For older F1 titles, see the best F1 games.

11. Assetto Corsa Rally

The new rally sim from Supernova Games Studios and 505 Games. Early Access since 13 November 2025, version 0.6 since 10 September 2026, $29.99, PC only. Version 0.6 has 18 licensed cars and five locations. The Steam page aims for 1.0 within 18 months of launch.

Verdict: the rally pick for 2026 if you accept Early Access. Full details in my Assetto Corsa Rally guide.

12. Forza Motorsport

Forza Motorsport is $69.99 on Steam and on the US Xbox store, and it is in Game Pass. But in December 2025 Turn 10 said it does not plan to add new cars, tracks, features or regular bug fixes. Servers stay online, with special events and old Featured Tours brought back each month. I could not open the original Turn 10 post, so that quote comes from press coverage of it (VGC, 17 December 2025).

Verdict: fine if it is already in your Game Pass. I would not pay $69.99 for a game that has stopped growing.

Best sim racing game by platform

Xbox is the weakest platform for sim racing in 2026. With Forza Motorsport frozen and LMU not out on console yet, ACC is the serious option.

If you are still on PS4, my older list of PS4 sim racing games is a better fit. If you race in VR, I cover that separately in the best PC VR racing games.

Best sim racing game by budget

The game is the cheap part. A wheel and pedals matter more to how a sim feels than which sim you pick, and a gear-driven wheel will hide a lot of what these physics engines do. I list the sensible entry points in the best budget sim racing wheels for 2026.

What about BeamNG.drive?

BeamNG.drive is $24.99 on Steam and still in Early Access. Its soft-body physics are the best crash and chassis simulation you can buy, but it is not built around racing. It comes to PS5 in Early Access on 19 October 2026, offline only, with no PS5 price published yet. Details in BeamNG.drive on PS5.

FAQ

What is the best sim racing game in 2026?

iRacing, if online racing is what you want. For endurance and prototypes, Le Mans Ultimate. For GT3, Assetto Corsa Competizione.

What is the most realistic racing sim?

There is no official measure of realism. On published features, iRacing, Le Mans Ultimate, ACC and Automobilista 2 are the four with full tyre models, real licensed championships or both. Which one feels most real depends on the car class.

What is the best sim racing game on PS5?

Gran Turismo 7 for most people. Assetto Corsa Competizione if you only care about GT3 racing. Le Mans Ultimate and Assetto Corsa EVO are not on PS5 yet.

Is iRacing worth the subscription?

If you will race online every week, yes, because the scheduled, rated races are what you pay for. If you mostly drive offline, a one-off game like AMS2 or ACC is better value.

What is the best free sim racing game?

RaceRoom. It is free to play on Steam with free cars and tracks, and you only pay for extra content.

Is there an F1 26 game?

No. EA released a paid 2026 Season Pack for F1 25 on 3 June 2026 instead. The next full F1 game is due in 2027.

Is Forza Motorsport still supported?

Its servers are still online, but Turn 10 said in December 2025 that it plans no new cars, tracks, features or regular bug fixes.