Car games have been around for decades - almost since the interactive medium was invented - but there has been a huge rise in popularity in recent years in playing them on a browser.
There are several reasons for this. They allow for instant play, boast mechanics we all recognise, offer a range of popular subgenres (such as F1), and there are no downloads or awkward DLC to negotiate.
Poki, a free browser game platform with over 100 million monthly users is a prime example of this. We’ve teamed up with the web gaming giant to look at what the future may hold for the racing genre on desktop.
Desktop Driving
Poki is home to thousands of free-to-play games, with a variety of different genres you can look through to find something you want. One of the most fully stocked genres are racing ones though.
There’s quite a lot of variety to be enjoyed across the racing games sub-genres for instance. Arcade games focused on drifting can appeal to motorsport enthusiasts who have a deeper understanding of car physics for example.
Whereas there are titles which have more of a focus on larger trucks. Whatever type of race or ride you’re looking for, the range of titles on a platform like Poki has you covered.
Unlike on Console or PC you’re not restricted to just one game or disc at a time, but can switch between the titles quickly to make sure you find exactly what you’re looking for.
Car Games Online Popularity
There are stats to back up the increase in car games on browser. According to GameIndustry.biz there are now 4.9 times more web browser games this year than in 2023 - and car based titles are a large part of that.
Even Google Trends show this inflation in popularity. If you search ‘car games online’ within the past five years, the results are below the hundreds. Similarly, only a few continents have people searching for these games, with most searches coming from Australia and Africa. Now, in the past year, searches have been from all over the world.
Specifically, the US, South America, Europe, and India. This goes to show that car games online are growing across the world, with an influx of people wanting to play on browser.
Likely due to their accessibility and the huge amount of choice players have to pick which racing titles they want to play. They’re not locked into single titles on Console and PC.
As touched upon above, covering every single car game that’s on the Poki platform would take more than a few hundred laps - so instead let’s go through three titles that show desktop gaming can keep almost any racing game fan satisfied.
Blacktop: Police Chase
We’ve all seen police chases in movies, right? Well, now you can experience it for yourself, without needing to actually be chased by the police.
Blacktop: Police Chase allows you to drive around the city and escape from the police cars chasing you. It’s fun, action-packed, and makes for a high-speed chase.
Blumgi Rocket
If you don’t like open-world driving, how about an obstacle course? In Blumgi Rocket, complete various levels as you ride over obstacles and terrain. As you progress, it gets tougher, but you can collect different cars.
Drive Mad
Then there’s Drive Mad, a new and exclusive title to Poki which boasts adorable pixel art aesthetics and simple yet gripping arcade gameplay. One of the most popular titles on the platform with millions of plays.
These titles all show how you can go from more casual to more involved car games in seconds Poki, and why players are using such platforms more and more in recent years.
We wouldn’t be surprised to see even greater advances in racing games on desktop in the near future too, with larger scale online competitive experiences and even more in-depth sims available for players.
There’s clearly an appetite for such titles on the platform. They built it - and they did indeed come.