First NASCAR Rivals gameplay revealed in new trailer

While there won’t be a new NASCAR game on PC, PlayStation, or Xbox for the 2022 season, NASCAR Rivals is racing onto Nintendo Switch later this year.

Announced last week, NASCAR Rivals is the only official game of the 2022 season with all the teams, drivers, cars, and tracks from the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series. After the initial CGI announcement trailer, Motorsport Games has revealed the first NASCAR Rivals gameplay footage in a new trailer.

First NASCAR Rivals gameplay revealed

The new trailer offers our first look at NASCAR Rivals running on Nintendo Switch. Graphically, NASCAR Rivals appears to be an improvement over NASCAR Heat Ultimate Edition+, with higher quality textures and lighting effects.

We also get a brief look at the Challenges mode featuring scenarios inspired by the NASCAR Cup Series as well as the Paint Booth for customising cars and character creator. Split-screen multiplayer is also shown, and NASCAR Rivals will support online multiplayer for up to 16 players.

For the first time in the series, players can also race against up to seven players on a local network using a local wireless connection such as Bluetooth.

Cover stars

NASCAR Rivals’ cover stars have also been revealed. Starring on the cover is TrackHouse Racing’s Ross Chastain, Joe Gibbs Racing's Kyle Busch, Hendrick Motorsports' Alex Bowman, Team Penske's Joey Logano, and Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin.

Release date and pre-orders

NASCAR Rivals will be released exclusively on Nintendo Switch on 14 October 2022. Pre-orders are now live, with the digital version retailing for £44.99 on the Nintendo eShop. A physical version will also be available at select retailers.

While NASCAR Rivals is the only official 2022 NASCAR game, NASCAR 21: Ignition will receive a 2022 Season Expansion in September adding the cars, tracks, teams from the current season.