- iRacing Arcade is a new game that moves the hardcore sim iRacing name into a more accessible genre.
- The new game has been developed by the same team behind the Circuit Superstars and Karting Superstars arcade racers.
- iRacing Arcade is out in December for PC, with a demo available on Steam now and console releases in 2026.
iRacing is one of the most hardcore racing sims out, with brutally realistic racing but even more brutally realistic rules and regulations.
So it seems particularly weird that the title is branching out with a genuine arcade racer, complete with cute cartoony graphics and considerably more forgiving handling. But that's exactly what iRacing Arcade is, but with an added business-building twist added in.
iRacing Arcade is developed by the Original Fire Games team, known for arcade racers Circuit Superstars and Karting Superstars. Positioned as a "highly accessible and lighthearted" alternative to the full simulation, the game aims to carve out a new space in the market.
iRacing's Executive Vice President and Executive Producer, Steve Myers, describes the game as “iRacing meets Mario Kart meets SimCity”, saying that the game is designed to fill a gap at the "bottom of the pyramid" for iRacing, serving both as a marketing tool and a way to engage a younger audience.
iRacing Arcade is built around the concept of quick action gameplay and "smaller bites," a stark contrast to the multi-hour races often found in the core iRacing simulation. When it comes to the driving model, iRacing Arcade also doesn't aim for hyper-realistic driving physics, instead using basic collision detection and driving physics, with a more relaxed interpretation of the rules.
During races, players can monitor stats such as tyres, fuel, and health, and while the rules are far less harsh than the full iRacing sim, they are still there - cut a corner and you'll get pinged with a two second slow-down - but hitting other cars only results in a few points off your health meter.
In keeping with its arcade-y approach, iRacing Arcade features colourful and vibrant cartoony visuals, with adorably truncated versions of both fictional and real-world licensed cars lifted directly from iRacing, such as the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (992) featured in the just-released demo on Steam.
Leveraging iRacing's standing in the serious sim racing world, iRacing Arcade also features licensed real-world race series and tracks, including Imola, Knockhill, Tsukuba, Kyalami and Circuit Paul Ricard.
One of the most distinguishing features of iRacing Arcade is its highly original, fleshed-out career mode, which moves far beyond the series of cups seen in the developer's prior projects.
Players start with a small racing garage and, by earning money, they can upgrade their "racing campus" in a way that is very reminiscent of the original SimCity series. These upgrades involve building bigger and better facilities that allows the player to add more racing cars to their team and access upgrades that provide racing advantages.
Much like the aforementioned SimCity, the user interface offers options to ‘build,’ ‘relocate,’ or ‘demolish’ structures, giving players the ability to design their campus the way they want.
If this sounds like the exact blend of sim racing, arcade fun and empire building you have been craving, the demo is available now on Steam with a full PC release scheduled for the 2nd of December. Console versions are expected to follow in 2026.
