The Best PS5 Racing Games in 2026

I’m a sim racer and amateur racer with a passion for Motorsport, good racecraft and the technical and setup aspect of sim racing.

The PS5 has quietly become a proper home for racing, and not just for the arcade crowd. You can run a real GT3 simulator on it, race iRacing-grade stock-car AI on it, or strap on a PSVR2 headset and drive Gran Turismo 7 in full virtual reality – all from a console that sits under the telly. This is the list I’d give a friend who’s just bought one and asked what to play.

I’ve split it into two camps, because “best racing game” means very different things depending on who’s asking. If you want a driving simulator – the kind that rewards a wheel, a load-cell brake and a bit of practice – start with the serious sims. If you want to put a pad in someone’s hands and have fun in five minutes, the arcade picks are where you should look. Each game gets our score out of ten, and there’s a comparison table to skim first.

The list at a glance

Game	Best for	VR	Our score
Gran Turismo 7	Sim-lite all-rounder	Yes	9.0
Assetto Corsa Competizione	GT3 racing	No	8.5
Forza Horizon 5	Open-world arcade	No	8.5
NASCAR 25	Stock-car / ovals	No	8.0
F1 25	Formula 1	No	7.5
EA Sports WRC	Rally	No	7.5
The Crew Motorfest	Open-world arcade	No	7.5
Wreckfest	Demolition racing	No	7.5
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds	Kart / party	No	7.0
Redout 2	Anti-grav arcade	No	7.0
Horizon Chase 2	Retro arcade	No	6.5

Now the detail, game by game.

The serious sims – where a wheel earns its keep

These are the games that justify a direct-drive base and a load-cell brake. They ask more of you than the arcade picks, and they give more back. If you’re reading SimRacingCockpit, this is probably your half of the list.

Gran Turismo 7

Platform: PS5 / PS4
Type: Sim-lite
Wheel: Fanatec, Logitech, Thrustmaster
VR: PSVR2 (full game)
Our score: 9.0/10

If you own a PS5 and you want one racing game, this is still the one I’d point you at first. Gran Turismo 7 sits in that sweet spot between arcade and hardcore sim – the physics are serious enough to reward a proper wheel and a bit of trail-braking, but it never punishes you for being human. Polyphony have kept it fed with free updates for years now, and the car list, the track roster and the used-car economy have all grown well past where the game launched.

Two things lift it above everything else on the platform. The first is GT Sophy, the machine-learning AI that races you properly – it defends, it makes mistakes, it takes a look up the inside, and it’s a world away from the rail-following AI most console racers ship with. The second is PSVR2 support for the whole game, not a bolted-on demo mode. Strap the headset on with a wheel and GT7 becomes one of the best-value VR sim experiences you can buy at any price. On a PS5 Pro it runs with PSSR upscaling and ray tracing on track, and it looks the part.

What holds it back from a perfect score, for me, is the always-online requirement for most of the single-player and the way the tyre model smooths over the very last few percent of grip that a title like ACC lets you feel. But as the all-rounder – the game you put on for a quick race or a two-hour endurance stint, in VR or on the telly – nothing else on PS5 covers as much ground this well.

Assetto Corsa Competizione

Platform: PS5 (native)
Type: GT3 sim
Wheel: Fanatec, Logitech, Thrustmaster, Moza
VR: No (console)
Our score: 8.5/10

For the driver who wants the closest thing to a proper GT3 simulator on a console, ACC is the answer, and it isn’t close. Kunos shipped a dedicated PS5 build – not just a PS4 game running in back-compat – so it holds 60fps and gets the same tyre and aero model that made the PC version the sim of choice for real GT3 esports. If you race the Nürburgring 24h or Spa in your head on the way to work, this is where you scratch that itch.

The trade-off is focus. ACC does one thing – modern GT racing on a fixed roster of real circuits – and it does it to a standard nothing else on PS5 matches. It asks more of you than GT7 does: the car will step out if you’re clumsy with the throttle, the brake needs a load cell to get the best from it, and the setup screen is a rabbit hole. That’s the point. On a decent direct-drive base it feels superb.

It’s showing its age in one respect – the content is locked to the 2018-2023 GT3/GT4 grids, so you won’t find the newest cars here, and the console UI has always been a bit clunky. But nobody buys ACC for the menus. They buy it for the way a GT3 car loads up mid-corner, and on that measure it’s the console sim to beat.

NASCAR 25

Platform: PS5 (native)
Type: Stock-car sim
Wheel: Fanatec, Logitech, Thrustmaster
VR: No
Our score: 8.0/10

Here’s the one nobody expected to be this good, and the one you won’t find on most rival lists. NASCAR 25 is the first NASCAR title built by iRacing Studios, on Unreal Engine 5, and having iRacing’s DNA behind a console stock-car game changes everything. It launched on PS5 and Xbox in October 2025, and the thing everyone came away talking about is the AI.

Oval racing lives and dies on the AI, because the whole discipline is 30-odd cars running inches apart for two hours. Get that wrong and it’s a demolition derby; get it right and it’s the best racing in the sim world. NASCAR 25’s AI runs genuine multiple grooves – it’ll run the high line to get temperature into the tyres, drop to the bottom to defend, and side-draft you down the back straight. After years of NASCAR games from other studios that felt like driving against a train on rails, this is a proper step change.

It isn’t flawless – the career mode is thinner than the racing deserves, and a few road-course details need work – but as a semi-sim stock-car game on PS5 it’s comfortably the best there’s ever been, and it’s the pick that sets this list apart. If you’ve written off oval racing as boring, this is the game that changes your mind.

F1 25

Platform: PS5 (native)
Type: F1 sim-lite
Wheel: Fanatec, Logitech, Thrustmaster
VR: No (PS5)
Our score: 7.5/10

If open-wheel is your thing, F1 25 is the obvious PS5 pick – the official licence, every 2025 car, driver and circuit, and the polish you’d expect from an EA-backed annual release. The handling model sits firmly on the sim-lite side: approachable on a pad, rewarding on a wheel, and a long way from the knife-edge of a proper open-wheel sim, which for most players is exactly right.

The point worth knowing in 2026 is that Codemasters didn’t ship a standalone F1 26 – instead F1 25 got a 2026 Season update mid-year, folding in the new regulations, the revised cars with active aero, and the Madrid street circuit. So the game on the shelf is current, and you’re not waiting on next year’s box to race this year’s grid. My Team career and the story mode remain the deepest single-player package in any console racer.

It’s the least “sim” of the serious picks here, and if you already own last year’s edition the jump is incremental rather than essential. But as the one F1 game on PS5, kept up to date with the real championship, it earns its slot.

EA Sports WRC

Platform: PS5 (native)
Type: Rally sim
Wheel: Fanatec, Logitech, Thrustmaster
VR: No (PS5)
Our score: 7.5/10

Rally is its own discipline, and on PS5 the rally sim to own is EA Sports WRC. It’s the Codemasters rally team’s most ambitious stage game – long, properly modelled stages, a deep Builder mode, and a handling model that finally captures the pendulum weight of a rally car on loose gravel. On a wheel with the right settings it’s a genuine test of car control.

There’s a caveat you should factor in before buying, because it changes the game’s future. EA lost the WRC licence from 2027, the rights revert to a Nacon-owned studio, and EA has wound the rally team down – so there won’t be a WRC 26 or 27 from this team. What’s on the shelf now is the finished article rather than the start of a series, which is fine if you want a great rally game today, less so if you were hoping for years of updates.

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It also launched with more technical rough edges than a Codemasters rally game should have, most of which have since been patched. Taken as it stands in 2026, it’s the best pure rally sim on the console – just go in knowing it’s the end of a line, not the beginning of one.

Arcade and fun – grab a pad and grin

Not every night is a two-hour endurance stint. These are the games for the sofa, the split-screen evening, and the friend who says they don’t like racing games until you hand them one of these. No wheel required.

Forza Horizon 5

Platform: PS5 (native)
Type: Open-world arcade
Wheel: Basic wheel support
VR: No
Our score: 8.5/10

The headline here is the platform, not the game: Forza Horizon 5 is the first Forza ever to appear on a PlayStation, and for a series that defined Xbox racing that’s a genuine moment. If you’ve spent years watching Xbox owners enjoy the best open-world racer going, it’s finally your turn.

And it is the best open-world racer going. The open Mexico map, the seasons, the ridiculous car list and the sheer generosity of the thing make it the arcade racer I’d hand to anyone who says they don’t like racing games. It’s not a sim and it doesn’t pretend to be – wheel support exists but the game is built for a pad – but for pure “put it on and grin” driving, nothing on this list touches it.

It’s a few years old now and the PS5 version arrived well after the Xbox one, so you’re not getting a brand-new game. You’re getting a fully-grown, endlessly-updated one, which is arguably better. If you want a sim, look up the list; if you want a driving playground, start here.

The Crew Motorfest

Platform: PS5 (native)
Type: Open-world arcade
Wheel: Basic wheel support
VR: No
Our score: 7.5/10

The Crew Motorfest is the festival-racer alternative to Forza Horizon, set on a gorgeous rendition of the Hawaiian island of Oʻahu, and on PS5 Pro it’s one of the better-looking arcade racers around. Where it earns its own identity is the “Playlist” structure – themed campaigns that walk you through a slice of car culture, from Japanese tuners to endurance racing, each with its own vibe and soundtrack.

It’s unashamedly arcade – the handling is forgiving, the map is a playground, and the whole thing is built to be enjoyed with a controller on the sofa. If you’ve exhausted Forza Horizon 5 and want more of the same energy on a different island, it’s an easy recommendation, and it’s frequently on offer.

It leans on always-online and the progression can feel like it’s steering you toward the store now and then, which is the genre’s usual tax. Look past that and it’s a warm, generous open-world racer that does the festival formula well.

Wreckfest

Platform: PS5 (native)
Type: Demolition racing
Wheel: Wheel support
VR: No
Our score: 7.5/10

Sometimes you don’t want to hit an apex, you want to hit another car. Wreckfest is the best banger-racing game there is – a proper soft-body damage model that turns every race into a war of attrition, and a demolition-derby mode that’s as much fun as anything on the platform. It came from the people behind the old FlatOut games and it shows.

What surprises people is that under the carnage it’s a seriously decent racer. The cars have weight and slide around on the loose surfaces in a way that’s satisfying on a wheel, and the campaign has more depth than a game about crashing needs. It’s the ideal antidote to a frustrating night on the sim – twenty minutes of trading paint and you’re grinning again.

Note that Wreckfest 2 is in Early Access on PC and isn’t a finished PS5 release yet, so the game to buy today is the original – and it remains excellent value, usually cheap in a sale.

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds

Platform: PS5 (native)
Type: Kart racer
Wheel: No
VR: No
Our score: 7.0/10

Every console needs a great kart racer, and on PS5 the pick is Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds. It’s the natural home for the family and party end of the racing shelf – split-screen chaos, weapons, wild tracks, and the kind of pick-up-and-play accessibility that a pad-and-sofa evening wants.

It’s the most polished the Sonic racing series has been, with a track-warping gimmick that keeps races fresh, and it’s the one to reach for when someone who doesn’t play racing games wants to join in. Nobody’s bringing a direct-drive wheel to this one – and that’s exactly the point.

It’s here to round out the list rather than to challenge for the top spot, but if you have kids, or you just want the racing game that gets the party going, it does that job better than anything else native to PS5.

Redout 2

Platform: PS5 (native)
Type: Anti-grav racer
Wheel: No
VR: No
Our score: 7.0/10

For anyone who still mourns WipEout, Redout 2 is the closest thing PS5 has to a successor – blisteringly fast anti-gravity racing, a punishing sense of speed, and a synth soundtrack that belongs on a night drive. It is not a sim, it is not remotely realistic, and that’s the entire appeal.

What sets it apart from the rest of the arcade pack is how demanding it is once the speed classes ramp up. The higher tiers ask for real reflexes and track memorisation, and there’s a skill ceiling here that rewards practice in a way the casual arcade racers don’t. It’s a niche pick, but for the right person it’s a favourite.

It won’t be for everyone – the difficulty curve is steep and the futuristic setting is a specific taste – but if the idea of a modern WipEout makes you sit up, this is the one to get.

Horizon Chase 2

Platform: PS5 (native)
Type: Retro arcade
Wheel: No
VR: No
Our score: 6.5/10

Horizon Chase 2 is a love letter to the arcade racers of the early 90s – think OutRun and Top Gear, all bright colours, simple handling and pure joy. There’s no pretension here at all: you tap the throttle, you weave through traffic, you chase the horizon. It’s the palate-cleanser of the list.

It’s the game to have installed for a five-minute race between more serious sessions, and its split-screen multiplayer is a lovely, uncomplicated bit of fun. On a big TV the neon art style really sings.

It’s the lightest pick here by some distance, and it won’t hold a sim racer’s attention for a whole evening. But not everything needs to be a two-hour endurance stint – sometimes you just want to chase the sunset, and this does that beautifully.

Coming to PS5 (worth the wait)

Le Mans Ultimate – the official Le Mans / WEC sim, and one of the best endurance sims on PC, is confirmed for consoles with a target window of late 2026 or early 2027. If multi-class prototype racing is your thing, it’s worth holding out for. Assetto Corsa EVO – Kunos’ successor to the original Assetto Corsa is in Early Access on PC and a PS5 version is planned, but there’s no official date yet (community estimates run into 2027). Don’t hold your breath, but do keep it on the radar.

On PS5, but I’d wait

Two serious sims did land on PS5 in late 2025 that you’ll see on the store – and that most rival lists quietly leave off. Here’s why I’m not recommending either one yet, and what would change my mind.

Rennsport

Platform: PS5 (native)
Type: GT sim
Wheel: Wheel support
VR: No
Our score: 5.0/10

Rennsport arrived on PS5 in November 2025 with real ambition – an esports-first GT simulator with slick presentation and backing from serious money. On paper it should be a rival to ACC. In practice, the reception has been cool: reviewers and players have found it sterile, thin on content, and weighed down by a monetisation model that gets in the way of the racing.

The driving underneath isn’t the problem – there’s a decent sim in here – but it doesn’t yet give you a reason to leave ACC, and the thin car and track roster makes it hard to recommend at launch. I’d keep an eye on it, because the foundation could grow into something, and file it under “watch, don’t buy yet.”

Project Motor Racing

Platform: PS5 (native)
Type: GT/endurance sim
Wheel: Wheel support
VR: No
Our score: 5.5/10

Project Motor Racing carries a lot of history – it’s the new game from the team whose lineage runs back through the GTR and Project CARS series, and a serious multi-class endurance sim on PS5 is exactly what a lot of us have been asking for. The problem is the launch. It arrived in November 2025 with buggy AI, questionable penalties and force-feedback complaints that soured a lot of first impressions.

A 2.0 update and some DLC through spring 2026 have improved things, and the bones of a good sim are clearly here. But it’s still rough enough that I can’t put it alongside the finished articles above. This is the one to revisit in six months – if the patches keep coming, it could climb this list. For now, go in with eyes wide open.

So which should you buy?

If you buy one game, buy Gran Turismo 7 – it’s the best all-rounder on the platform and the only one that does VR. If you want a proper simulator to pair with a wheel, Assetto Corsa Competizione is the console sim to own, and if ovals interest you at all, NASCAR 25 is the one to surprise yourself with. For rally it’s EA Sports WRC, for open-wheel F1 25, and when you just want to switch your brain off, Forza Horizon 5 and Wreckfest never miss.

Whatever you pick, a wheel transforms the serious end of this list – even a modest belt-driven wheel is a night-and-day upgrade over a pad for GT7, ACC or NASCAR 25. If you’re thinking about taking that step, our sim racing wheels guide and direct drive wheels guide will point you at the right one for your budget. Have fun, and I’ll see you out on track!

The Best PS5 Racing Games in 2026

Topic: Sim Racing Games