Racing games are among the most played in the gaming business, despite the fact that there are many other types of games available. Among the many things that set racing games apart are the opportunities they provide to drive a wide variety of vehicles at speeds ranging from glacial to hypersonic, to fine-tune and customize each ride to exact specifications, to compete head-to-head with racers from around the world, and to explore gorgeous worlds and tracks. To their luck, Xbox is a fantastic gaming system for motorsports enthusiasts. As of right now, these are the top 10 racing games on the Xbox.
To varying degrees of success, many of firms and teams have tried to provide their version of a premium racing experience to fans. It’s no surprise that Microsoft’s Xbox Game Studios is home to two formidable racing titles—Forza Motorsport and Forza Horizon—making Xbox one of the greatest platforms for racing aficionados to enjoy their hobby. Moreover, popular third-party series are heavily featured on Xbox, providing consumers with an almost infinite pool of entertainment options.
It’s important to keep in mind that not all racing games are made equal, and that many of them aim to please players with quite varied tastes. Is the most lifelike racing simulator your goal? A trip in the dirt? Where can I find a large, open world that doesn’t take itself too seriously? There’s a lot to take into account, so we collected the top-tier resources for every racing game enthusiast. Some of these have even made it into our greatest Xbox games list.
Formula One Racing Game Forza Horizon 5
Forza Horizon 4 reigned as the finest Xbox racing game for a long time, but it has already ceded its crown to a game that is both more complex and grander in scope. Finally, Forza Horizon 5 has here, and it accomplishes the impossible by fulfilling almost all of Playground Games’ lofty claims. The next installment in the Forza Horizon series takes place in Mexico and features the series’ biggest and most varied landscape to yet. There are already over 600 distinct automobiles in the Forza Horizon 5 car list, and that number is expected to expand. Several of the games on this list are accessible via Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Cloud Gaming, making it even easier to get in and play.
With the promise of continuous maintenance for years to come, Forza Horizon 5 is not just larger and better in almost every aspect than its already-excellent predecessor. With the Festival Playlist’s return, FH5 is sure to develop and improve over time. Like previous installments in the series, FH5 is a simul-arcade racer, meaning it is not as realistic as its Motorsport equivalent or other series. But, Playground Games has made it simpler than ever for anybody to get into Forza Horizon 5 since it is the studio’s most accessible and inclusive entry to date.
In our Forza Horizon 5 review, we found that FH5 established itself as the undisputed king of open-world racers, and that its mass appeal drift hunters and attention to detail helped elevate the whole racing genre. The flagship title from Microsoft Game Studios is the only game you need if you want to enjoy an amazing open-world racing game. A variety of Forza Horizon 5 versions are available, each with its own set of bonuses, downloadable content, and more.
Get Your Desire for Speed Out of the Box
There’s no denying the legendary status of the Need for Speed series, which has been around for decades, but the current age of Need for Speed has largely failed to gain universal appreciation from reviewers and gamers alike. The newest installment, Need for Speed Unbound(opens in new tab), changes that by providing a spectacular open-world racing experience.
The stunning visual style and art design in Need for Speed Unbound is the game’s main selling point. Unbound’s open environment and vehicles look fantastic on Xbox Series X|S, but that’s not all: the game also offers a wide selection of visual effects and embellishments that can be tweaked to your liking. Each vehicle may personalized in infinite ways, and there is a robust single-player campaign to complete.
Even while Need for Speed doesn’t do much to set itself apart from Forza Horizon in terms of open-world gameplay or to avoid genre tropes with its story, it’s still a lot of fun and easily the finest Need for Speed game in recent memory. To play it, though, you’ll need a modern gaming system.
DIRT 5
Games that take use of the capabilities of the Xbox Series X|S current-generation consoles are essential for advertising their strengths. One of the early console releases was DIRT 5, the latest installment in the wildly successful DiRT series from Codemasters (now a part of Electronic Arts), which takes the series in a new direction while still satisfying gamers and fans of high-octane off-roading racing.
DiRT games, as the name suggests, focus on pushing heavily modified vehicles off the main route in order to blaze new trails, and the brand has consistently found success with a wide range of racing aficionados. Although while DIRT 5 is a more laid-back experience than its before, it doesn’t mean it’s any less of a great game. The game is tremendously entertaining, simple to pick up and play, and packed with content, including a non-linear campaign and player-created “Playgrounds,” as well as a broad variety of locations, some of which have dynamic weather.
Nevertheless, DIRT 5 is not the simulation-style off-roading game that you may be expecting. The game has a low learning curve, so even seasoned racers won’t have too much trouble getting into it. Last but not least, DIRT 5’s visuals are sometimes spectacular and sometimes off, and the game’s vehicle and customization possibilities are disappointingly limited, particularly in the livery editor. Even so, DIRT 5 offers a lot of squelchy good times.
F1 22
If you’re into Formula One racing, you’re probably familiar with Codemasters’ and Electronic Arts’ ongoing F1 series. Since what seems like the beginning of time, the developers of the F1 racing simulation series have been steadily releasing new installments every year, each one improving upon the last in little ways. Those who have played previous entries in the F1 series will not surprised by what they find in F1 22.
In F1 22, you may create your own team and train like a real F1 driver as you strive for the top of the sport. This latest installment in the Formula One series has the finest graphics (designed for current-gen consoles), the most up-to-date roster of cars, teams, and drivers, and a plethora of features to keep players interested for hours.
The release of a new F1 game is inevitable, but in the meanwhile, you can enjoy the newest and finest in the genre with F1 22. If you’re not ready to pay the admittedly high price to get it on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, or both, you can always wait for it to show up through EA Play. Yet, there may not be much of an incentive to purchase F1 22 if you already possess a recent installment in the F1 series.
The Second Version of DiRT Rally
DiRT Rally 2.0 is the best option for individuals who want to go all out in an off-road racing simulation. The DiRT Rally games put greater emphasis on realism than the other games in the series and designed to challenge even the most skilled off-roaders. When players get behind the wheel of a DiRT Rally 2.0 car, they can anticipate a genuine rally challenge with minimal tutorials.
DiRT Rally 2.0 stands out from the crowd thanks to its top-notch driving mechanics and physics, which include track surface degradation and tire wear, challenging AI opponents and simulation-like racing, excellent sound design, and a respectable roster of rally-grade vehicles you can take on a tour of six different countries. Even with the plethora of post-release DLC and extra cards, DiRT Rally 2.0 is still a fantastic option for any rally enthusiast seeking a challenging racing experience.
Of course, not everything is peachy. The circuits in DiRT Rally 2.0 may get tedious after a while due to the small pool of available possibilities; the simulation-like racing and complexity would be understandable if there were tutorials to help novice players become used to the series and the genre, but there aren’t any. The single-player mode of DiRT Rally 2.0 might need some improvement, too. If you want all of the downloadable content for DiRT Rally 2.0 at a discount, the Game of the Year Edition is the way to go.
