- Primary Subject: Rally Racing Video Games (2026 Multi-Platform Overview)
- Key Update: The sim racing community continues to thrive with the ongoing Early Access updates of the brand-new Assetto Corsa Rally alongside classic community-modded titles.
- Status: Confirmed
- Last Verified: June 15, 2026
- Quick Answer: The top 5 rally games to play in 2026 are DiRT Rally 2.0, Richard Burns Rally, EA Sports WRC, Assetto Corsa Rally, and art of rally.
Let’s face it, rally racing games feel like a dying genre. Compared to blockbuster franchises such as Formula One, Need for Speed, or Forza, new releases and content for the Colin McRae Rally and World Rally Championship game series are slowly fading.
Dirt racing in games such as Gran Turismo 7 or the newly released Forza Horizon 6 is limited in favor of the more popular tarmac. Nevertheless, I’d like to believe that rally isn’t a dying art form.
There’s something to be said about throwing the weight of the car around corners and trying to find grip on surfaces where there is none, on the brink between a fast time and a DNF.
More than that, rally attracts the most hardcore and passionate of fans, who risk certain death in real life to see fast cars drive dangerously close down tight roads or up jumps that send a one-ton death machine flying through the air, and although videogames can’t exactly replicate that feeling, it does get close.
Rallying has found a niche spot in the sim racing community that keeps that daredevil feeling alive by continuously supporting and creating new content online.
Whether you’re a beginner trying to dip your toes into rallying, or a veteran looking for something new, here’s my definitive list of the top 5 must-try rally games in 2026.
DiRT Rally 2.0
Often titled as the “Dark Souls of racing games”, DiRT Rally 2.0 is the tried-and-tested fan favorite of rally enthusiasts. But don’t let the moniker fool you;
I think that a better way to phrase it is that rallying itself is the “Dark Souls of racing”, and DR2.0 was just the perfect poster child for that attribution.
Beginners wanting to dip their toes into rallying should find that DR2.0 is a respectable entry point to the genre, with great visuals, realistic physics, and a sense of speed that I personally think is unmatched in other rally games.
It’s simple enough to be set up properly out of the box; just plug in and play, and it’s already good enough for a new driver.
Veterans that have sunk hours into this game will find that they can still learn something new and become a faster driver than the one they were yesterday.
DiRT Rally 2.0 is the game that made me fall in love with rally games, and I would recommend it to any driver who wants to experience the thrill of rally for themselves.
Richard Burns Rally
Now this is the real “Dark Souls of racing games.” Richard Burns Rally (2004) is a hardcore sim, if not the most realistic and difficult rally racing sim ever.
Despite the game being over 20 years old, RBR has been kept alive by a strong modding and online community.
It still sees online play, new content updates, and championships organized by its fans, who praise it for its realistic physics and difficulty.
So much so that the difficulty in playing this game made me feel like I was learning how to drive a rally car all over again.
If you feel that you’ve graduated from DiRT Rally 2.0 and are looking for the next stage to conquer, RBR with the RallySimFans mod installed is a great place to start (it’s also the best way to play, as RBR isn’t really available for sale).
EA Sports WRC
The most recent AAA rally game, and DiRT Rally 2.0’s younger brother, is EA Sports WRC (2023) by Codemasters. Think of it as a spiritual sequel to DR2.0, with updated cars, stages, and handling.
It is the official WRC experience, complete with a career mode with teams and locations straight from the real-life World Rally Championship seasons in 2023 and 2024.
However, compared to DR2.0, the graphics personally don’t look too polished, and the car’s physics feel more floaty, but if you liked DR2.0 and wanted more content such as official cars and longer stages, this is the game for you.
Assetto Corsa Rally
Assetto Corsa is a title that needs no introduction. Anyone even slightly familiar with the sim racing community has heard of its high attention to detail, laser-scanned racetracks, and realistic physics.
Now, the AC franchise is starting a new venture with Assetto Corsa Rally as its first-ever rally game. It’s available on Steam as an Early Access game and is constantly receiving new updates, though for now content is limited in scope, with only 15 cars and a few stages.
It comes with all the authenticity and high-fidelity that people have come to expect from AC games, and I believe that it has the potential to be one of, if not the best, rally game available once it leaves early access.
If you don’t mind being an early adopter, Assetto Corsa Rally is a worthwhile investment, if only to see the best of what modern racing game technology has to offer.
art of rally
Last but not least, art of rally (2020) proves that rally games aren't a dying art. It’s an indie game dedicated to the “golden age” of Group B rally.
Race across classic rally stages while drifting around corners and avoiding the crazy spectators who are definitely too close to the racing line.
It’s a different kind of game, more stylized with a top-down camera and comfy art style, and totally not realistic at all; it’s a love letter from rally fans to the art, if not the spirit of rallying.
Art of rally is a short but sweet game, a breath of fresh air to remind us that rally driving is not about the destination but the journey we took to get there.
If at any point on this list you feel stuck and not improving, or if you need a reminder on why you play rally games at all, this one is for you.
The Finisher
Rally racing games may be less popular than other racing genres, but they continue to thrive through a dedicated community of fans and sim racers.
Every game offers a different lens to the rally experience, but underneath it all is the same passion that we each have for rally.
Stay tuned to racinggames.gg: the best website for racing game coverage.