Highlights
- Xbox Game Pass offers a wide range of racing games, from simulation to arcade, providing something for every racing fan.
- Descenders, Grid, and Forza Motorsport are standout racing games available on Xbox Game Pass, offering thrilling gameplay.
- Forza Horizon 4 and Forza Horizon 5 are top-notch racing games that excel in open-world exploration, diverse car selection, and breathtaking visuals.
Xbox Game Pass is the best deal in gaming providing hundreds of games at a manageable monthly cost. There is something for everyone on the service, from great open-world games to the best co-op games. There are a lot of games for racing fans as well, ranging from retro to modern hits. Microsoft is dishing out quality racing games for their Xbox Game Pass subscribers.
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Xbox Game Pass racing games range from strict simulation to super arcade, so you can always play what you like. If you love using an external steering wheel, you can do that in simulation games. Or if you like to relax and chill with a 'mindless' and fun arcade racer, Xbox Game Pass has you covered there too.
Updated May 28, 2024 by Quinton O'Connor: We've given this article a quick refresh with some additional information for several great titles.
8 Descenders
Descenders is about downhill racing on bicycles. That may sound a little dull, but the game is anything but. It has an incredible sense of speed; you'll genuinely feel like you're, well, descending at a breakneck pace. This makes the races a little daunting, but it is rewarding to pull through and win.
If, by any chance, you love racing on mountain bikes in GTA 5, you’ll have a great time descending mountains in Descenders. It's a complete package that will satisfy you like few other racing experiences can.
7 Dirt 5
The game strayed from its simulation roots and became a little more accessible for racing fans. It tipped slightly towards arcade racing but not enough to completely become non-serious. It has gorgeous-looking graphics, a physics-based driving system, and genuinely fun tracks to drive on.
If you love off-road or closed-track racing, Dirt 5 is one of the best ones available on the system. There is also a great progression system that can keep you engaged for a long while.
Dirt 5
Dirt 5 is an off-road racing game from Codemasters, initially launched in 2020. It features several different locations, over 60 cars to choose from, and a story mode that features the voice talents of Nolan North and Troy Baker.
- Released
- November 6, 2020
- Developer(s)
- Codemasters
- Publisher(s)
- Codemasters
6 Forza Horizon 4
There are plenty of differences between Forza Horizon 4 and its more recent successor, but the core mechanics, the feel of Forza Horizon, remains relatively similar.
Once you get the hang of them both, you'll become familiarized with all those changes, but on a macro scale, so to speak? You can jump into Forza Horizon 4's English setting just as quickly as Forza Horizon 5's Mexico, or even juggle the two games.
Playground Games has positively nailed it in either case, and if you're coming off of 5 with a need for more? Truly, 4 holds up admirably.
Forza Horizon 4
Forza Horizon 4 brings the open-world racing series to the United Kingdom. It features races, missions, and a roster of over 750 cars across the main game and its DLC.
- Released
- September 28, 2018
- Developer(s)
- Playground Games
- Publisher(s)
- Microsoft Game Studios
5 F1 23
This racing game is not for everyone, but those who do love Formula racing will appreciate it plenty. It’s a simulation-based game with realistic Formula cars to drive. The physics are as close to the real deal as the developer could muster, so you're really hopping into high gear here.
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If you love this type of racing game, F1 23 is arguably the best on Xbox Game Pass. While it isn’t as big of an improvement over the F1 22, it is still a great experience for the fans of the genre - and you can check out the predecessor on Game Pass, too, to see if it's more to your taste.
F1 23
4 Forza Motorsport (2023)
Speaking of simulation-based racing, here's the latest Forza Motorsport. It's not quite as intense in this regard as something like F1, but it doesn't strive to be. It's the natural companion series to Forza Horizon; the latter is all about its dramatic open-world, its semi-sim, semi-arcade style of vehicle handling; all that jazz.
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Forza Motorsport keeps you on the tracks, and it punishes you more 'appropriately' for bumping into obstacles and the like. Its library of vehicles isn't as vast, either, but the cars it chooses are all well-suited to its subgenre, including some bona fide classics from across the decades. If you want something more focused than Horizon, but with the same level of care from its creators, look no further.
Forza Motorsport (2023)
A soft reboot of the simulation arm of the franchise, Forza Motorsport introduces a new era of motor racing gaming.
- Released
- October 10, 2023
- Developer(s)
- Turn 10 Studios
- Publisher
- Xbox Game Studios
3 Wreckfest
Wreckfest takes physics-based car destruction and turns the dial to the max. The game lets you witness some amazing crashes. You know. If that's your thing. The best part? You could be the architect of all these crashes.
This is a contact racer that pits you against other racers aiming to cross the finish line. Most racers do involve aiming to cross the finish line, but in Wreckfest, you've got some real choices on how to accomplish that task. You can play it safe or go for the kill - when a car hits a car, it's almost like a Twisted Metal moment.
2 Burnout Paradise Remastered
There was a time when Burnout was the king of arcade racers. Burnout Paradise brings the core gameplay that made the original game so special. The graphics are improved, but the loop remains the same. It’s a fast-paced racer that lets you take down other drivers on the track.
Shove racers off the road, into traffic, or even the sides to make them flip in spectacular fashion. The inclusion of iconic music tracks makes the game all the more enjoyable.
Burnout Paradise
Burnout Paradise is a 2008 entry to the long-running arcade racing game series, developed by Criterion Games. It features an open world where drivers compete in a variety of races. It received a remaster in 2018, with a Nintendo Switch version following in 2020.
1 Forza Horizon 5
Forza Horizon 5 is not only the crown jewel of Xbox Game Pass, but probably the greatest racing game in the past several years. It has everything going for it. A huge open world to explore, hundreds of cars to drive, multiple racing disciplines, and those trademark gorgeous graphics that have the series pop for so long.
The arcade-like handling will push simulation hardcore fans away, but for everybody else, this is gold. If you are looking for a beautiful-looking racing game that pushes the graphical power of the Series consoles, Forza Horizon 5 just cannot be beat.
Forza Horizon 5
With Forza Horizon 5, Playground Games takes its open-world racing game to a fictional version of Mexico, containing plenty of races, missions, and collectibles to be found. It adds local weather fronts for more diversity, more than 600 vehicles, and the return of the Eliminator battle royale mode.
- Released
- November 9, 2021
- Developer(s)
- Playground Games
- Publisher(s)
- Xbox Game Studios
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