Best racing games 2024: edge of your seat driving experiences

The best racing games you can play in 2024 are found across all major consoles and PC. Even beyond our list of highly recommended titles below, there's plenty to love about the racing genre at present. The sim racing scene is massive, and we're seeing tons of quality arcade-style racers from indie developers.

What’s more, racing games are great to play on your own and improve your speed and performance, but they’re also a fantastic way to have fun with friends – whether you’re in the same room or playing together online with crossplay.

Although in the early days a blob of 8-bit pixels that vaguely resembled a Ferrari counted as realism, fast-forward to the present day and we’re spoiled for choice in how we get our high-speed kicks. With more detailed physics than ever, hyper-realistic graphics, and higher levels of immersion (thanks, in part, to the rise of VR). These are all features you’ll find when you play the top titles right now. But don’t worry, if you prefer your racing to be more arcade-y and over-the-top, there's plenty out there for you too.

Best racing games in 2024

You might not immediately think of GTA 5 when discussing racing games, but racing has been a big part of the series from the very beginning. GTA Online takes this all to the next level, and pound for pound, features more racing modes than any other game on this list. Whether you want to take on custom races around Los Santos, strap weapons to your hood and battle it out in arenas, or take on Hot Wheels-style challenges, then GTA Online has you covered.

Thanks to a bunch of car-focused updates over the years, the racing in GTA Online has improved massively since launch. You'll slowly use your criminal empire to invest in new vehicles, then use them to race other players for top prizes. This is, of course, just a small slice of what's possible in GTA 5, making the game a must play for car-loving gamers, and fans of third-person shooting alike.

Gran Turismo 7 is an excellent upgrade over the PS4's Gran Turismo Sport, packing loads of content, cars, and modes for sim racing fans to dig their driving mitts into. The game offers a sublime driving experience offline, with hundreds of cars and tons of tracks and layouts both real and fictional. Gran Turismo 7's solo experience makes it a contender for one of the best single player games out there, but also one of the best PS5 games full stop.

Overall, it's easy to pour tens, if not hundreds, of hours into Gran Turismo 7 thanks to its moreish progression. A recent update also greatly improved the game's physics model, meaning cars feel better to drive than ever.

The fifth entry in Playground Games' open-world racing series, Forza Horizon 5 takes its festival to Mexico's plains, deserts, jungles, and vibrant towns. It's an inspired and varied setting, carving an identity for itself next to the Australian beaches and outback of Forza Horizon 3 and the rolling British countryside and historical towns featured in Forza Horizon 4.

Forza Horizon 5 is one of the best Xbox Game Pass games available to download, offering buckets of compelling single-player content, and a rewards system that practically showers you with all kinds of vehicles. While much more generous than the rewards of Gran Turismo 7, it's a bit of a double-edged sword. The game's Wheelspin system rewards cars at such a high frequency that you'll never get around to racing in all of them.

In itself a port of Mario Kart 8 on the previous-generation Wii U, this game doesn't just stick a new name on an old game and knock off for lunch. New characters, tweaked graphics enabling 1080p/60fps output while the Nintendo Switch is docked, and a reworked Battle Mode all contribute to this being a massive critical and commercial success and one of the very best Nintendo Switch games you can buy.

A whopping six years on from release, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is still receiving new content via the Booster Course Pass. By the end of its run, 48 new and remixed tracks have been added, effectively doubling the amount of circuits in the game.

For PC-exclusive sim racing games, there's still no real competition to iRacing's goliath. The monthly subscription and additional content costs mean it's far from the cheapest racing game on the market, but in this case, you absolutely pay for what you get.

There's excellent online play with solid matchmaking, laser-scanned real-world racetracks, and the most realistic handling model possible – so much so that real race drivers use this sim to learn tracks, practice new cars and handling setups, or just to unwind between races. 

The game has been supported with consistent updates and new content, and despite being ten years old this year, there's still nothing that comes close to the most true-to-life sim racing experience in gaming.

Lego 2K Drive was one of 2023's surprise hits. Coming almost out of nowhere, this spiritual successor to the Lego Racers series hits all the right notes. With an open-world format clearly inspired by Forza Horizon (which in turn has had Lego-themed DLC campaigns), it's easy to get lost for hours exploring each hub and ticking off side objectives.

Of course, it wouldn't really be a Lego game without a degree of customizability. Lego 2K Drive delivers with one of the most robust vehicle builders we've ever seen. Players are able to build intricate vehicles from scratch or follow preset instructions for a helping hand while building street cars, offroad monsters, and speedy boats.

F1 24 is a strong return to form for Codemasters' long-running official racing sim franchise. The Braking Point campaign returns after a year off, and provides newcomers with an excellent hands-on tutorial while also serving a decently compelling narrative.

While Career mode options remain largely the same, it's added some new tracks, as well as updates for all racing teams and their drivers. It's the most up-to-date F1 experience you can get on console and PC right now.

While some minor things like stilted commentary are a bit irksome, there's much on offer for racing game fans, and plenty to make it well worth any F1 fan's time and money.

Forza Motorsport’s comeback is an impressive one after its divisive seventh entry and a welcome return to the sim-lite formula after back-to-back entries in the Horizon sub-series. With highly accessible racing and gorgeous visuals and lighting, it’s a fantastic Xbox exclusive.

You'll need to head online to get the most out of Forza Motorsport, and once you do, you'll be greeted with a rewarding and challenging loop to work through. If you're a fan of arcade racers, but want something a little bit more involved, with realistic car movement and physics, you really can't go wrong here.

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