The sim racing boom of late 2025 is real, messy, and brilliant. After years of steady improvements and cautious sequels, the last few months have delivered a cluster of ambitions that together feel like a reset. You have options now if you want to drive anything from rally monsters to hypercars, round real roads and laser scanned circuits, and every game in the pile brings a slightly different promise. We thought we’d take a look at some of those racing titles surfacing over the back end of this year, and give you an idea of what to look for and which might appeal to you and your own racing styles…
Assetto Corsa EVO: open world with simulation soul
Assetto Corsa EVO is the big one, arriving in Early Access in January 2025 with a launch package of licensed circuits and cars and a development roadmap for a fuller release later in the year. The stated goals are straightforward: keep the laser-scanned track fidelity and physics the series is known for while adding a drive anywhere open world element for players who want to roam rather than always race. The game already supports a driving academy mode and a free roam mode alongside standard events. There is talk across the community that the completed open world will cover roughly 1,600 square kilometres around the Eifel region. It’s not yet an official guarantee for what will be shipped at full release though, so consider it plausible ambition rather than a hard spec.
EVO’s real ambition is to pair classic circuit sim realism with a genuinely explorable countryside and road network. If the full open world lands as intended you will be able to treat the game like a driving simulator and a sandbox in equal measure. If you want both serious sim depth and the freedom to roam, and especially if you own a wheel and pedals and you like long drives as much as hot laps, EVO is built for you. We’ve been playing this for a couple of months, and it’s most definitely coming on very nicely.
Assetto Corsa Rally: surface fidelity and driving nuance
This is the Assetto team going all in on rally. The game was announced for early access in late 2025 with an initial set of laser-scanned stages and a launch catalogue of rally cars that spans classic Group B machinery through modern Rally2 and WRC spec cars. The intent is clearly to model surface types and how they change under tyres, and the early access build demonstrates that more detail is being focused on gravel, mud and mixed tarmac sections. Early impressions suggest this could be the absolute killer rallying title, something we’ve been waiting for for a long, long time. There are ideas in terms of possible longer term roadmap numbers… total kilometres of stages, the exact final count of rallies and cars, but these details still look like work in progress. Statements about full roster size and total stage length come from interviews and roadmap hints rather than an ironclad final list.
What we’ll almost certainly get however is deep, dynamic surface simulation that reacts to weather and repeated runs. The idea is that gravel becomes rutted, mud slicks up, and that your tyre choice and suspension setup really matter stage to stage. Any rally obsessives and sim players who want to feel every millimetre of loose surface will have a ball here. If you adored classic rally sims from the past and want a more physical, punishing feel than arcade off-road racers, this is your alley.
Project Motor Racing: purist simulation and mod friendly
Project Motor Racing is pitched as a proper sim for serious racers and mod communities. Scheduled for a wide late-2025 release across consoles and PC with a substantial initial car and track list, the creators have emphasised physics fidelity, tyre modelling, endurance features and robust telemetry. All in all, a bit of a motor racing nut’s absolute fever dream.
Claims about specific physics frequencies, console mod support breadth, and the totality of user mod tools have been discussed elsewhere in previews and developer commentary, but the exact console mod functionality may vary versus the PC toolset, such is so often the way with game mods. Treat mod friendliness as a major aim but pin concrete expectations to PC as the safest bet.
What we’re looking at is a hardcore focus on tyre dynamics, endurance rules and a platform built with modders in mind, so community content can reshape the game long term. As well as modders, simulation traditionalists and anyone who loves long events, tyre strategy and perfecting setups are going to find their home with Project Motor Racing. Expect long practice sessions, data analysis and a steep but rewarding learning curve if you’re going to compete with the big dogs.
Rennsport: the new ecosystem challenger
Rennsport is a newer name with a big promise. We already know it’s moving out of early access with a solid launch package of licensed cars and tracks and it’s designed as a multi platform sim from the ground up. The developers are pushing cross-progression and a broader ecosystem model that is meant to make it easy to play across devices. As someone who bounces between PC and PS5 gaming, this sounds fantastic to me. Some fairly less certain features have been touted; things like a full mobile companion app feature set, integrated live esports systems and some community integrations are all talked about as ongoing goals. Not all of those components are confirmed as launch day features. Consider the ecosystem ambition real but remember the fine print may take time to arrive.
Rennsport will bring some unique features tot he table though, but the main player here seems to be a platform minded approach with cross platform progression and ecosystem elements designed to blur the line between casual players on consoles and hardcore players on PC. As such console players who want serious sim features without a PC exclusive barrier, and players who like the idea of a single progression that follows you across devices, will find Rennsport is the pick if you want modern infrastructure and multiplayer first.
Le Mans Ultimate: endurance simulation in full
Le Mans Ultimate is the endurance specialist. It’s evolved through early access and now stands as the official game of the FIA World Endurance Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with licensed Hypercars, LMP2 and GTE machinery and multiple laser-scanned circuits. Recent updates have added features like driver swaps and team management, and with the FIA’s connection there’s a lot to look forward to with LMU. Console parity in terms of feature completeness is still a talking point. The PC edition is the most mature right now, and while console builds are planned and released, the depth of additional management tools and community features may differ platform to platform. As with many racing simulators, you’re more likely to get the fuller package on a PC.
With comprehensive endurance tools, including multi-class racing, driver swap mechanics and integrated team management, the idea of actual race weekends make this a playable simulation for fans of long format events – not a massive surprise given the choice of motorsport involved. If you want the complexity of multi class grids, pit strategy and long stints with realistic tyre and fuel management, this is the game to keep a very close eye on.
What do we need to keep an eye on?
Across these titles the themes are clear. Laser scanning of tracks, more realistic tyre and surface modelling, deeper progression and community support are now baseline expectations. Several games launch in early access and carry roadmaps for more content, which is a double edged sword: you get new features over time but you also get the early bumps that come with ambitious releases.
Rumour warning: some headline features you will hear in conversations, interviews or community chatter remain provisional until fully shipped. When I mention a rumour or an approximate consensus, that signals you are reading ambition rather than a sealed spec sheet. Launch notes and patch logs will be your friends moving forwards if you need precise final lists before you buy.
Performance and hardware are also factors. High fidelity physics, mirrors, VR options and multi monitor rigs demand more from your PC. Consoles are closing the gap but hardware choices still matter if you want the absolute highest fidelity. If your PC isn’t up to scratch you might find these games end up costing a lot more in upgrades than just the ticket price of the games themselves!
Which one should you buy now?
This is a hell of s quandry. If you want a single headline recommendation it depends on your itch. Want sandbox and scenic drives, plus proper sim physics? Assetto Corsa EVO is the headline pick. Want gravel chaos and the feel of loose surfaces? Assetto Corsa Rally. Want the deepest physics and mod scene? Project Motor Racing. Want a modern cross platform ecosystem? Rennsport. Want endurance and team strategy? Le Mans Ultimate. It’s an embarrassment of riches in terms of racing choice, and for possibly the first time in a long time, maybe forever, there is literally something for everyone.
Final word
Late 2025 is a moment where sim racing expands in every direction. Each title has a strong identity and specialism, and that diversity is the real story. You do not need to buy them all tomorrow. Pick the game that matches what you want to feel in the seat, whether that is exploration, gravel, data heavy endurance or console ready racing. The grid is fuller than it has been in years and that is a very good problem to have. I, for one, am very excited to see how these titles pan out in the coming weeks and months.