The best racing games coming in 2026

It would be inaccurate to say that the racing game genre has been in a total slump over the last few years. After all, Mario Kart World was one of the best-selling games of 2025 — as was the PlayStation 5 version of Forza Horizon 5. There are sub-genre-specific scenes that see a steady stream of new releases and healthy community activity, from kart racers to motorsport sims to retro indie arcade racing games.

But the genre has been stuck in a rut. It’s been a few years since a new racing game penetrated the mainstream gaming consciousness and reached a crossover audience; the last examples were probably Horizon 5 in 2021 and Gran Turismo 7 in early ’22. It’s been even longer since tentpole releases like these were surrounded by a constellation of smaller games with original hooks that might conceivably appeal to a broader spectrum of players.

Happily, this is exactly what’s promised by 2026’s slate of racing games. The genre’s reigning champion returns in the form of Forza Horizon 6. But that’s not the only potential blockbuster; Star Wars: Galactic Racer has a massive licence, a strong pedigree, and what sounds like an innovative design. Behind these two titans jostles a pack of middleweight games offering surprisingly fresh takes on the genre — and behind those there’s a busy field of ports, sequels, and early access games heading for 1.0 releases. Let’s run them down.

1 Forza Horizon 6

Where to play: Windows PC and Xbox Series X in 2026; PlayStation 5 later

Playground Games’ undefeated open-world racing series returns after a long five years and heads to its most-requested destination: Japan. We’ll learn more about it in an Xbox Developer Direct later in January, but Horizon’s well-established formula is sure to return: upbeat festival vibes, celebratory car culture, beautiful virtual tourism, fun “simcade” handling, and a vast panoply of stuff to do. There’s been a high staff turnover at Playground, as key creatives jumped over to Fable or left to form new studios, but the Forza Horizon machine runs so smoothly it’s hard to imagine Horizon 6 falling short of the series' sky-high standards.

2 Star Wars: Galactic Racer

Where to play: PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X in 2026

Galactic Racer was a surprise announcement at the 2025 Game Awards, and it’s yet to be revealed in detail, but there are reasons to be very optimistic. The developer, Fuse Games, was formed by Criterion Games veterans with experience on Burnout and Need for Speed (and Star Wars: Battlefront). It’s “runs-based,” which suggests a roguelike structure to the campaign as players modify rides inspired by iconic Star Wars vehicles: pod racers, speeders, speeder bikes, and the like. Also of interest: Fuse and Lucasfilm Games have opted to work with small indie publisher Secret Mode on Galactic Racer, suggesting a commitment to realizing a specific idea rather than going for the lowest common commercial denominator. Very exciting stuff.

3 Screamer

Where to play: PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X on March 26

Milestone is an Italian developer that churns out smaller licensed motorsport games and bike sims, but it’s breaking out of its comfort zone with this aggressively stylized, story-led, cyberpunk arcade racer. The title is borrowed from Milestone’s mid-’90s Ridge Racer clone, but the game appears to be an all-new brew of customization, vehicular combat mechanics, and anime drama. Intriguing!

4 Over the Hill

Where to play: Windows PC in 2026. Also coming to PlayStation 5, Switch 2, and Xbox Series X

Why shouldn’t a racing game — or, to be more precise, a driving game – also be cozy? Over the Hill is a gorgeously styled game of co-op offroad exploration, featuring adorably chunky 4x4s roaming across lovely pastel landscapes. It comes from Vancouver indie Funselektor, which made the impeccably cool retro rally game, Art of Rally. The vibes are pure with this one.

5 iRacing Arcade

Where to play: Windows PC in February 2026, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X later in 2026

Here’s a delightfully counterintuitive mashup: the ultimate hardcore online racing sim, iRacing, has teamed up with Original Fire Games, maker of Circuit Superstars, for a kid-friendly kawaii motorsport game complete with real-world racing licenses, online multiplayer, and a strategic campaign mode. It’s a fresh avenue for licensed motorsport games to explore, and the colorful, squashed versions of Formula 4, Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, and Fiat 500 Abarth cars are just too cute to bear.

6 Wreckfest 2

Where to play: Windows PC in early 2026, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X later

Bugbear’s sequel to its gloriously dumb and destructive, but surprisingly realistic, banger racer is currently in a well-received early access phase, and its 1.0 release is expected soon. It’s basically more of the same with better handling, better crash physics, and updated visuals. Given the evergreen appeal of smashing limping, rasping old rust heaps into each other, that’s enough.

And the rest

There’ll be no new F1 game this year, with Codemasters choosing to release 2026-season DLC for F1 25 and focus on a bigger update in 2027. But there is an intriguing alternative. iRacing Studios has teamed up with IndyCar for a standalone licensed game for the premier American open-wheel racing formula, due in the second half of 2026.

Milestone’s all-encompassing bike racing series reaches its sixth installment with Ride 6, which includes offroad as well as tarmac racing. Super Woden: Rally Edge extends the indie arcade series with Gran Turismo/PS1 stylings into Art of Rally’s domain.

A number of early-access or demo-only games look likely to reach 1.0 versions in 2026, including the Tokyo Xtreme Racer-adjacent Night-Runners, the open-world drive-everything game Motor Town: Behind the Wheel, and sim racers Assetto Corsa Evo and Assetto Corsa Rally.

Several great racing and driving games currently exclusive to PC are getting console ports in 2026. Our 2025 cult favorite Tokyo Xtreme Racer is headed to PS5, alongside well-regarded drift racer JDM: Japanese Drift Master. Last year’s big noise in the motorsport sim world was Le Mans Ultimate, which is due on consoles this year. And if you prefer driving at a very different pace, you can look forward to console ports of the mighty Euro Truck Simulator and American Truck Simulator.