The 18 Best Racing Games on Xbox One

700+ cars - that's the huge array of vehicles you can look forward to hitting high speeds in for this impressive iteration of Xbox's premiere racing simulation series. Forza Motorsport 7 looks just as good, sounds just as good, and plays just as good as PlayStation's latest entry in the Gran Turismo series, so you'll get the same sense of satisfaction from its brand of realistic racing. Racing under dynamic weather conditions and being able to customize your driver also offer some cool gameplay additions that make Forza Motorsport 7 a destination pick for Xbox One racing game fans.

If you'd rather play something that gives you more freedom when it comes to open-world exploration in a custom ride, then slide on over to the fifth entry in the Forza Horizon series. This latest batch of fast and furious racing in a beautiful location during a festival is centered in a world patterned after Mexico. While you're racing, you'll find yourself basking in the sights and sounds of an active volcano, jungles, beaches, and so much more. The weather system plays a huge part in how you'll progress, by the way - seasonal changes will play a part in how the roads are affected, which in turn will impact your racing performance. You'll get your money's worth with this one (those "Horizon Arcade" minigames are worth the price of admission all by themselves!).

The official video game representative for the GT World Challenge provides another sim racer that's just as realistic as its contemporaries. The real-world drivers, teams, cars, and circuits from that franchise are brought to life in Assetto Corsa Competizione and afford the game that much-needed air of authenticity. When it comes to best-in-class racing with a realistic visual and mechanical feel, this racer hits on all the right notes for genre hobbyists. The big things (the weight of each vehicle and the physics engine) and the little things (the look/behavior of doors and windshield wipers) are given equal attention here, proving how much this game pushes for the highest levels of realism.

Codemasters and EA Sports are the ultimate force when it comes to putting out the finest racing games on the market, so it should be no surprise that one of its releases gets a mention on this list. F1 22 hits the road running with top-notch open-wheel single-seater formula racing. And that signature style of on-road competition comes with a tracklist with real-world ties to the 2022 Formula One World Championship. Formula One sprints also make their debut in this game, which presents another cool way to simulate the high-speed sport of rally racing. And from a visual standpoint, the hyperrealistic cars look, sound, and feel amazing.

Before this Hot Wheels-inspired racer arrived, fans had gotten used to the fact that games of only mediocre quality were all they could look forward to for those miniature cars. That sentiment quickly changed when those same fans got their hands on this quaint arcade racing game. Hot Wheels Unleashed encapsulates everything we loved about those miniature collectible cars back in the day - this game is jam-packed with signature cars that you'll recognize from the toy line and several media properties and tracks that take place across those recognizable orange lanes within home-based locations. And as expected, each race you'll compete in will push you to the limit as you zoom across each track and do your best to avoid flinging yourself off the side of the road. You can create your own death-defying tracks that evoke that daredevil feeling for other players, by the way!

We got another sim racer that proudly represents a real-world racing circuit, folks! WRC 10 FIA World Rally Championship aka WRC 10 is the officially playable representative of the real-world 2021 World Rally Championship. Anyone who follows the exciting competitions from that racing league can digitally compete in them with the best cars on the best tracks. The rallies that debuted during the 2021 competition (which include Estonia, Croatia, Belgium, and Spain) are available for play here. Plus you'll get to hop into some races across classic rallies that encompass Acropolis, San Remo, Germany. and Argentina. Enjoy the scenic routes as you utilize 20 of the finest offroad-enabled automobiles from the likes of Subaru, Ford, Mitsubishi, and more.

The unmatched levels of chaos that games like Destruction Derby and FlatOut have produced in the past were missing for a good while...until this game revisited that style of racing. The best and most recent way to get caught up in all that car-smashing bedlam is through our latest list entry, Wreckfest. While the actual races here are a good time, it's this game's bevy of vehicular combat-focused sessions that provide the most fun. The perfect marriage between clearly visible car damage and an excellent physics system is what makes Wreckfest a destination for gearheads that live for plentiful levels of vehicular destruction.

Ask a Need for Speed fan which series entry has stood the test of time the most and they just might mention Hot Pursuit. If you missed out on the original version of the ultimate cops and robbers simulator, then you're in luck because there's a remastered edition worth checking out. "Seacrest County" contains all the speed-limit-breaking bedlam that regularly breaks out across this game's offering of racing and police chases. Playing as a racer or a police officer means having two equally dope portions of the game's epic single-player campaign to sink one's teeth into. We also gotta give this game major kudos for its "Autolog" system and how it constantly egged us on to beat our online friends' racing completion times.

Motorcycle enthusiasts actually have some decent options to get caught up in when it comes to quality games. In the case of this next pick, we recommended it with the utmost confidence. MotoGP 22, which looks incredibly lifelike and presents the most realistic sound and feel of motorcycle racing, is a must-play. What's great about this game's single-player content suite is how it gives historians the chance to play out the events of the legendary Grand Prix of the 2009 season. You'll also get to compete across everything featured in the 2022 season's real-world 120+ riders and 20+ official circuits, so you have plenty of motorcycle action to bask in here. Fans of two-wheelers should prep themselves for greatness in another one of the best racing games for Xbox One.

What was once a PS1 exclusive ended up getting fully remastered and ported to non-PlayStation consoles. Spreading all that kart-racing goodness around was a smart move by Activision and Beenox! Since Mario Kart totally isn't a thing on Xbox One, the next best thing is this latest pick on our list. Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled features a plentiful lineup of characters, power-ups, and courses from the original game and its sequels, Crash Nitro Kart and Crash Tag Team Racing. You'll never get bored causing headaches for other players on the track and drifting/boosting your way to first place. The wealth of content available here (a story mode, kart customization, battle modes, etc.) is simply a blessing.

We're sure the lot of you enjoy some dirty and fast-paced rallying and rallycross racing from time to time. DiRT Rally 2.0 actually offers one of the better ways to experience those types of off-road competitions in video game form. Across Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, Poland, Spain, and the US, you'll carve your way through iconic rally courses with 50+ rally cars. The handling feel for this game is as legit as it gets, so you'll really feel like you're shredding through the dirt every time you hit the track. Hardcore car tuning, rally team building, and highly competitive local/online racing are all featured in this top-tier DiRT series entry.

Back in 2008, developer Criterion Games moved out of its comfort zone a bit with its latest Burnout game. And in the process, it ended up producing one of the greatest open-world racing games of all time. That game arrived in the form of Burnout Paradise, which successfully brought together the explosive car crashes and breakneck speed of the series with the new digital playground called "Paradise City." All sorts of local/online races, a day and night cycle, the inclusion of motorcycles, and the addition of "Big Sur Island" turned this racer into the ultimate package for arcade racing game fans. This remastered re-release comes with every bit of that content and a crispier visual sheen that makes it worth replaying or checking it out for the very first time.

The racers that littered the 80s and 90s arcades have inspired a new crop of games that revisit the pixelated visuals and upbeat tunes of those classic games. We're set to acknowledge one of them right now for our list of the best racing games on Xbox One and it's called Slipstream. The OutRun vibes are clearly in place here as you hop into five different car models and take to the streets across 20 international locales. Tight turns and high speeds definitely come into play here. Plus the bevy of varied modes you can play here (six in total!), local four-player option, and extensive graphical customization options Splitstream offers will make you feel all nostalgic for the 2D racers of the past.

Slightly Mad Studios have dropped three installments in the simulation racing-focused Project CARS series. In our humble opinion, the one that deserves the majority of your time and energy is the second one. Project CARS 2 includes a bunch of automobile disciplines - the one that made its debut here is off-road driving. And when you consider the rest of this game's content suite, you'll be more than satisfied with everything it provides you - 140 track layouts at 60 different locations and 189 cars at your disposal sounds amazing, right? The refined handling makes this sequel feel even better than its predecessor, so you'll have an easier time ruling the roads in this one.

Now imagine Slipstream but with hella neon-colored locales and an electronic music soundtrack that keeps the good grooves going while you hit the highest of speeds. So Inertial Drift marries the best parts of arcade racers like Outrun and Ridge Racer to present an enticing experience that racing fans will fall in love with after just one play session. What's so unique about this racer is its twin-stick control scheme, which lets you steer your car with the left analog stick and drift to your heart's content with the right analog stick. The game's gorgeous art style and supremely satisfying tunes that play while you race will also appeal to you with this pick.

Here's another racer that'll send you back to the good old days of 3D arcade racers that Sega used to put out on the regular! So what we have here is the hyperfast attack on the senses known as Hotshot Racing. which will instantly take you back to back to the glory of Sega's Daytona USA. And that's because of the overall feel for this retro-stylized racer that feels just like that goated arcade great. Throwback visuals, tight drifting, and an exciting soundtrack come together to produce a package that 90s gamer babies will get a ton of mileage out of. Be sure to pick up this game's "Big Boss Bundle" DLC since it comes with more goodies in the form of tense races littered with explosive barrels and even more racetracks. You've probably realized by now how much we love retro-inspired racers on this list of the best racing games on Xbox One!

Futuristic racing games owe their thanks to the Wipeout series. And for this latest pick on our list of the best racing games on Xbox One, we're going out of our way to put you on to one of those types of games. Pacer has grown from its more humble beginnings into a feature-rich game with a striking visual palette and some of the slickest inclusion of anti-gravity racing you'll ever play. 14 tracks, five types of customizable "Craft" vehicles, a whole arsenal of weapons that can wipe out the competition, and a bumping EDM soundtrack are guaranteed to grab your attention here.

Now let's bring this list of the best racing games on Xbox One to a close by highlighting a game that wouldn't look out of place in an arcade during the 90s golden era! For fans of OutRun and Top Gear, Horizon Chase Turbo was specifically made for you. Its simple premise of racing across an open road while straightaway roads segue into tight turns will keep you entertained for hours on end. And just like the previously mentioned Hotshot Racing, Horizon Chase Turbo brings back the best elements of the 80s and 90s golden age arcade racers with an extremely catchy soundtrack and brightly-colored tracks that set the mood just right. The old-school vibes will please you greatly here, trust us on that one!