With 2023 reaching the end of the road, it’s time to look at our most anticipated racing games of 2024.
All-in-all, 2023 was a strong year for racing games, with Forza Motorsport returning to the track, The Crew Motorfest attempting to dethrone Forza Horizon, and Codemasters’ first official WRC game.
There were some bumps in the road, however, with several high-profile games launching with frustrating bugs and glitches. Let’s hope these issues don’t repeat next year because 2024 promises to be an exceptional year for racing fans.
From Test Drive Unlimited’s long-awaited return to a 60-player battle royale kart racer, these are the racing games we can’t wait to play in 2024.
Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown
It’s been a long wait for Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown. Announced in 2020, TDUSC was initially slated for a September 2022 release but was pushed back to 2024. Delays are always disappointing, but moving TDUSC away from competitors like The Crew Motorfest will allow it to shine in the spotlight. Hopefully, the longer development time will also prevent TDUSC from being plagued with bugs like Forza Motorsport.
Taking place in a 1:1 scale recreation of Hong Kong Island, TDUSC sees you race for The Sharps or The Streets clans in the coveted Solar Crown competition. TDUSC isn't just about racing luxury cars on the streets of Hong Kong Island; it's also about living a luxury lifestyle. Interactive dealerships and a plethora of customisation options will let you make each car your own, giving a sense of ownership we haven't seen in racing games for a long time.
Compared to Forza Horizon, unlocking your dream car will take a long time. This may alienate casual players but provide a better sense of achievement for dedicated players. After years of silence, Nacon finally showed off TDUSC gameplay this year, and it looks slick.
Before Forza Horizon, the original TDU pioneered online open-world racing. As the first TDU game in 12 years, TDUSC could revitalise open-world racing once again.
Assetto Corsa 2
Assetto Corsa sped onto the sim racing scene in 2024. Since then, it’s become one of the most popular sim racers thanks to its genre-defining driving physics and a dedicated modding community. While Assetto Corsa Competizione is technically superior with night racing and wet weather, it lacks the original’s broad appeal, focusing exclusively on GT competition. Luckily, Kunos Simulazioni is cooking up a direct sequel.
Assetto Corsa 2 has yet to be revealed, but we know publisher 505 Games is targeting a Summer 2024 release window. Whereas ACC runs on Unreal Engine 4, AC2 will use an in-house engine like the original. Other than that, details are unknown.
But with a broader car list and improved physics and visuals, if there's one game that will get more players into sim racing next year, it's Assetto Corsa 2. We can't wait to hit the track next year.
F1 24
With improved handling, regular challenges and rewards in F1 World, and the return of Braking Point, F1 23 put the official F1 game series back on track. Despite this, F1 23’s sales were reportedly down by nearly 47% compared to F1 22. As a result, Codemasters is feeling the pressure for F1 24 to deliver.
With no changes to next year’s calendar or driver lineup and fans feeling fatigued by Max Verstappen’s dominance, F1 24 needs to innovate. Codemasters has nailed the handling, but the visuals in F1 games have looked dated for years.
After EA Sports WRC switched to Unreal Engine, the time is right for the F1 series to get an upgraded graphics engine that fully utilises the current-gen consoles. We’re also hoping Career and My Team will get a much-needed revamp after being largely unchanged since F1 2020. If F1 24 fails to move the series forward, it could make or break the franchise.
Wreckreation
Originally a direct sequel to Dangerous Driving, Wreckreation is the latest project from Three Fields Entertainment, a small team founded by the creators of Burnout. We’ve been intrigued by it since it was announced last year.
Wrekcreation combines the best of Burnout and Trackmania, with destructive open-world racing, spectacular crashes, and the ability to create wild custom tracks. The twist is that you can edit the environment in real-time, adding loops, ramps, and obstacles while other players drive. It sounds delightfully bonkers.
Sadly, we've had no news or updates since the last trailer dropped in August. With EA unlikely to bring Burnout back any time soon, Wreckreation could be the Burnout Paradise spiritual successor we've been waiting for. After the underwhelming Need for Speed Unbound, we need a new arcade racing hit.
Stampede Racing Royale
With Mario Kart 8 Deluxe still dominating and new challengers like Disney Speedstorm and Dreamworks All-Star Kart Racing, kart racers are having a resurgence right now. Next year, a new challenger will attempt to dethrone Mario Kart: Stampede Racing Royale, a free-to-play battle royale kart racer.
Developed by Sumo Leamington, Stampede Racing Royale is set to shake up the kart racing genre, with up to 60 players battling it out on the track in multiple rounds until the last player is standing. With a huge range of destructive powerups, it’s a recipe for chaos. The result looks like a mix of Mario Kart and Fall Guys, and we're all for it.
Following several Steam playtests, Stampede Racing Royale is set to arrive on Steam Early Access in the first half of 2024. This could be one to watch next year.
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