8 Best PS2 Racing Games of 2026

Gran Turismo 4 is our answer to the best racing game on the PS2. Sony's North American launch release lists more than 700 cars and up to 100 tracks, and Polyphony Digital's own product page adds that every car can be tuned from tire pressure and ride height to gear ratio. Gran Turismo Mode is the long game: you start at the bottom, win prize money, buy and sell cars and upgrade parts across championships. B-spec mode turns you into a team director for an AI driver, and Photo Mode is a hobby in itself. Sony lists play for one to two players on one console and up to six over LAN, plus 1080i output and Logitech Driving Force Pro wheel support. A used disc costs $26.99 at DKOldies before sales. The catch is pace: this is a simulator, so players who want crashes and cop chases should start with Burnout 3 or Most Wanted.

Burnout 3: Takedown is the arcade answer to Gran Turismo 4, and the closest call at the top of this list. EA's shipping announcement from September 2004 describes more than 40 tracks spanning three continents, over 70 cars and 100 unique crash junctions, along with crash technology that lets you keep steering your wreck to take out rivals. That takedown system is the reason to buy it: races reward you for shoving opponents into traffic rather than for clean lines. The same release lists seven online modes for up to six players, though PS2 online play needed a Network Adaptor and a memory card, so treat it as a solo game today. Criterion Games developed it, the ESRB rated it Teen, and the soundtrack has more than 40 songs. A used disc costs $25.99 at DKOldies. It has no tuning or open city, so pick Most Wanted if you want free roaming.

Burnout Revenge is the pick for players who finish Burnout 3 and want more of it. EA's April 2005 announcement describes new race, crash and road rage modes and an all-new Revenge mode that has you battle the clock while plowing through rush hour traffic. The same release notes that Burnout 3: Takedown had won three BAFTA awards, including Best Racing and Best PS2 game, which sets the bar this sequel was built to clear. DKOldies lists it for one to two players, a plus over its predecessor's single-player listing. The used price is the weak spot: $39.99 before sales at DKOldies, against $25.99 for Burnout 3. EA's announcement also gives fewer specific numbers than the Burnout 3 shipping release, so we score its documented features a little lower. If you only buy one Burnout, start with Takedown and add Revenge when it is on sale.

Gran Turismo 3 A-spec is the best value racer on the PS2 and the cheapest pick on this list. Polyphony Digital's product page dates it to July 10, 2001 and describes two ways to play: Arcade Mode for quick races and Simulation Mode for the full career of buying and upgrading cars. Rally racing returns with a refined off-road physics model, and each car was built to the specifications of its real counterpart at 4,000 polygons per vehicle. It supports two-player racing on one console and, through i.LINK, up to six players. Sony's later Gran Turismo 4 release calls it a PlayStation 2 Greatest Hits title, which helps explain why a used copy costs only $6.99 at DKOldies. Its car list is much smaller than Gran Turismo 4's, so treat it as a cheap starting point or a companion disc rather than a replacement.

Need for Speed Most Wanted is the PS2 racer for players who want to be chased. EA's November 2005 shipping release describes a career where you build a Rap Sheet and street cred to climb the Black List, while evading more than half a dozen police cars at once in a dynamic open world. The car list is shorter than Gran Turismo's, at more than 36 cars, but it covers tuners, supercars and muscle cars, with the BMW M3, Porsche Cayman S, Lamborghini Gallardo, Mazda RX-8, Ford Mustang GT and Mitsubishi Eclipse named. EA Canada developed it, and the ESRB rated the PS2 version Teen for mild violence. A collector's Black Edition with extra cars and races also came out for the PS2. The problem in 2026 is price: DKOldies lists a used disc at $62.99 before sales, more than twice the cost of Gran Turismo 4 or Burnout 3.

Midnight Club II is the budget way into open-city street racing on the PS2. Rockstar's own game page describes nightly races through the streets of L.A., Paris and Tokyo, with a choice of performance-enhanced cars or bikes and a simple rule set: there are no rules, you can drive anywhere in the city and the job is to find the fastest route. Rockstar San Diego developed it, and Rockstar dates the release to April 8, 2003, with Mild Lyrics and Violence listed as rating descriptors. That free-route design is what separates it from Burnout and Gran Turismo, where you follow a track. A used disc costs $23.99 at DKOldies before sales, against $76.99 for Midnight Club 3. Its age shows in a thinner customization list than the later DUB Edition, so pick Midnight Club 3 if tuning matters and the price does not.

Need for Speed Underground 2 is the PS2 racer for tuner culture. EA's November 2004 shipping release describes a free-roaming city with more than 125 miles of open road across five interconnected neighborhoods, where rival races can start anywhere. Customization is the headline: EA counts 70 billion possible car combinations, from performance tuning to hydraulics, spinner rims and scissor doors. Modes include StreetX, Downhill Drift and the Underground Racing League, and the soundtrack has 27 songs plus an exclusive Snoop Dogg remix of Riders On The Storm. EA Canada developed it, and the ESRB rated it E for Everyone, which makes it the open-world pick for younger players. The used price is the obstacle: DKOldies lists it at $74.99 before sales, well above its $49.99 launch MSRP. Buy Most Wanted instead if police chases matter more to you than body kits.

Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition is the open-city racer for collectors with a budget to match. Rockstar's game page calls it the return of the series that took racing from closed tracks to the urban streets, with rims, trims and upgrades for your ride and races through traffic at speeds of over 250 MPH. Rockstar San Diego developed it, and Rockstar dates the release to April 11, 2005, on PS2, Xbox and PSP, with Mild Language and Mild Violence as the rating descriptors. Customization covers both style and performance, which puts it closer to Underground 2 than to Midnight Club II. The reason it ranks last is cost: DKOldies lists a used disc at $76.99 before sales, the highest regular price on this list, and the official page gives few countable details on cars or cities. If you want the Midnight Club style for less, Midnight Club II costs $23.99.