10 Best Car Games of 2026

Forza Horizon 6 takes the top spot because it documents the most driving of any game on this list. The Steam page lists over 550 real-world cars and moves the Horizon Festival to Japan, with Tokyo City described as the largest urban area in any Forza Horizon game. The campaign starts you as a tourist, runs through the Horizon Invitational and progressively faster wristband tiers, and ends on Legend Island, and you can play it solo or in co-op. Outside the campaign there are customizable garages, a buildable Estate in a mountain valley, body kits and Forza Aero upgrades, and CoLab, an EventLab toolset that now supports building with friends anywhere on the map. Steam lists full controller support, adjustable difficulty and an AutoDrive option. The costs are hardware and price: the minimum spec asks for 16 GB of RAM, 167 GB of storage on an SSD and a broadband connection, and the Standard Edition is $69.99.

Gran Turismo 7 is the strongest simulator for console players. The US PlayStation page lists over 420 cars available from day one at Brand Central and the Used Car Dealership, with more than 100 added since launch, and 37 tracks with 110 layouts that mix real locations with series originals such as Trial Mountain and Deep Forest. Modes cover GT Simulation Mode, Arcade, Driving School, Circuit Experiences, Time Trials and Sport mode Daily Races, so beginners and competitive players both have a path. PS5 owners can play in PlayStation VR2, and the paid Power Pack adds 50 races, 24-hour endurance events and full race weekends. Free updates continue: Spec III added 8 cars and 2 tracks, and Spec IV Part 1 arrived in October 2026. The limits are platform and connectivity: it runs only on PlayStation, online play needs PS Plus, and the page notes an internet connection is required for most functionality.

Mario Kart World is the easiest game on this list to hand to a group of players. Nintendo's US store page describes races with up to 24 drivers on courses that connect into one world, with mountains, forests and cities, shifting weather and a day and night cycle. Grand Prix scores four connected courses, Knockout Tour eliminates racers at five checkpoints until four are left, and Battle mode includes Balloon Battle and Coin Runners. Four people can play on one console, eight by local wireless and up to 24 online, and the page lists accessibility tags for play without motion controls, rapid button presses or touch controls. A free update in September 2026 added SNES courses and Knockout Tour routes. It is a kart game, not a car simulator, so drivers who want real cars and tuning should look higher or lower on the list. It needs a Nintendo Switch 2, and online play requires Nintendo Switch Online.

Rocket League is the best free pick for drivers who care more about competition than lap times. The US PlayStation page lists it as free, describes it as a hybrid of arcade-style soccer and vehicular mayhem, and documents 1v1, 2v2 and 3v3 online modes plus Extra Modes such as Rumble, Snow Day and Hoops. Progression runs through Competitive Ranks, free Competitive Tournaments, weekly and season-long Challenges and the Rocket Pass, and cross-platform play shares your inventory, rank and pass tier on connected platforms. Up to 4 players can play locally and 8 online. It scores lower on capabilities because it has no conventional races, tracks or licensed car roster beyond cosmetic tie-ins such as the Nissan Fairlady Z in a past Rocket Pass. Spending is optional, but season packs on the PlayStation Store run from $1.99 to $19.99.

BeamNG.drive is the pick for people who want to see what really happens when a car hits something. Its Steam page describes a soft-body physics engine that simulates every component of a vehicle in real time, which gives it the most detailed damage model on this list. It ships with dozens of customizable vehicles, from compact cars to trucks, and 12 open-world environments. Modes include Free Roam, where you can change wind speed or gravity, Scenarios such as truck deliveries and police chases, and Time Trials. A built-in World Editor and mod support let the community add vehicles, terrain and scenarios, and Automation owners can export their own car designs into the game. At $24.99 it is the cheapest paid game here, but it is demanding: the minimum spec lists 16 GB of RAM and 6 GB of video memory, and Steam marks controller support as partial.

F1 25 is the official Formula One game, and on Steam it now sells as the 2026 Season Edition, which bundles the base game with the 2026 Season Pack for $49.99. The pack adds Audi and Cadillac to the grid, the updated 2026 driver line-ups and MADRING, a 5.4 km street and purpose-built circuit in Madrid with 22 corners. The 2026 cars are lighter and smaller with active aerodynamics, and the page says they suit both gamepad and wheel players. Career and My Team modes return, the Konnersport story extends into both modes, and a livery editor lets you set driver numbers and move or scale logos. Steam lists split-screen, LAN and online play with cross-platform multiplayer, VR support and full controller support. The trade-off is scope: it covers only Formula One, and open-wheel racing is less forgiving than the arcade games here.

Assetto Corsa Competizione is the most focused racing simulator on this list. It is the official GT World Challenge game, so its Steam page lists official drivers, teams, cars and circuits, with every circuit recreated using laser scanning. The physics model covers tyre grip, aerodynamics, engine parameters, suspension and electronics, and drivers manage ABS, traction control, ignition and ECU mapping from the cockpit. Sprint, Endurance and Spa 24 Hours races run in single player and multiplayer, and Career, Championship and Free Play modes come with tutorials and adjustable aids. Online, a ranking system scores driving behavior and matchmaking pairs players of similar skill. It runs on modest hardware, with 4 GB of RAM as the minimum, and supports VR. The limits are scope and difficulty: it covers GT racing only, controller support is listed as partial, and it rewards a steering wheel.

Need for Speed Unbound is the street racing choice. Its Steam page sets it in Lakeshore, where you race for cash, outsmart police and enter weekly qualifiers for The Grand, the city's top street race. Criterion has kept adding to it through numbered volumes: Vol. 6 brought a dedicated PvP mode with weekly playlists, Vol. 7 brought back Drift and Drag with League progression, Vol. 8 restored Hot Pursuit with Cop Progression and Vol. 9 added the series' first motorbike. Cars are tuned and customized in your garage, and Steam lists cross-platform multiplayer and adjustable difficulty. Hardware needs are moderate at 8 GB of RAM. It scores below the open-world games above because its $69.99 list price matches Forza Horizon 6, Steam lists only partial controller support and a broadband connection is required.

The Crew Motorfest is a car festival on Hawaii. Its Steam page describes an open world across O'ahu and Maui, with street races through Honolulu, off-road runs on a volcano and circuit racing. Progress runs through more than 20 themed campaigns, called playlists, covering car cultures such as American muscle and Japanese street racing. Online, the Grand Race puts you against 28 other drivers and switches vehicle types along the route, and Demolition Royale pits eight teams against each other. A free trial covers the first 5 hours, which no other paid game here offers. Steam lists full controller support and a minimum of 8 GB of RAM. On the downside, a broadband connection is required, Steam lists in-app purchases, and extra vehicles sit in paid editions. The Steam price was on a temporary discount when we checked, so we have not listed a fixed price.

Burnout Paradise Remastered is the budget pick for arcade driving. The Steam page sells it for $19.99 and describes a driving playground in Paradise City, from downtown avenues to mountain roads, built around stunts and crashes. The remaster includes every Year of Paradise add-on: Big Surf Island with nine extra vehicles, the Cops and Robbers online mode with police versions of 33 cars, Legendary Cars, Burnout Bikes with four motorbikes and toy cars. Burnout Paradise Party lets a group pass the controller to complete challenges. Steam lists full controller support, online co-op and PvP, and the hardware bar is the lowest here at 4 GB of RAM and 8 GB of storage. It ranks last because it offers the least depth: the cars are fictional and the game is a remaster rather than a current release.