Competitive racing has its own thrill and adrenaline driving momentum that takes you to the edge of your seat. Although 2020 has kept us mostly at our homes, you can still gear up for some excellent releases this year from your favorite racing platforms.
Check out these top 2 releases among the most anticipated competitive racing games of 2020!
iRacing
iRacing clearly focuses on competitive racing. It is arguably one of the most realistic racing games out there, featuring much different racing series and as well as a big community.
You can drive different GT Series, open-wheelers, NASCAR, Les Mans prototypes, and even off-road and rallycross cars. If you don’t find your favorite series in this game, you might not find it anywhere else! This game checks all the boxes and promises many hours of gameplay.
Now let’s focus on the most exciting updates from the 2020 Season 3 Build released in June:
- 1987 Cars: Chevrolet Monte Carlo and Ford Thunderbird, two of the highly anticipated cars from the NASCAR Cup Series of 1987, finally make their debut on the iRacing track. They are included as a part of the new NASCAR legend series.
- Ford F-150: Now, you can try the wheels of Ford in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series for the first time and try to win the Class C competition.
- Road Course Racers: You can work to climb up the Indy ladder with the help of the first two cars in the NTT IndyCar Series, which is the PM-18, used in Indy Pro 2000 and USF-17 which was used in US F2000. Also debuting is the BMW M4 GT4 in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge of iRacing.
- Track Updates: All members owning the current Kentucky layout, a reconfigured Kentucky Speedway, will be made available for free. Besides, also check out the track at Road America for some pleasant visual surprise!
- Race Control Updates: From this season onwards, limited tire sets is the new rule in multiple official series, and also available for selection in Hosted and League events. Make sure to watch out for other control updates, such as shorter cautions on super speedways and drive-through penalties.
- Tire and Damage Model Updates: Seven more cars, including the NASCAR Cup Series cars and Porsche, 911 GT3 Cup, now utilize iRacing’s New Damage Model, which now features multi-threaded processing.
- Audio Updates: Now, the long-awaited integration of XAudio2 API has been added to iRacing’s new sound system. In the next few months, you can expect new and improved sounds. You can switch to XAudio2 API from the Direct Sound system under the Options menu.
- Visual Updates: The new auto-exposure camera system and camera shakes are part of a slate of multiple graphics improvements. Cameras now automatically adjust their exposure based on the image they’re capturing, while camera shake effects are available for static and mounted cameras. The auto-exposure camera system only works with HDR rendering enabled.
- AI: Four new cars and eight new tracks have been unlocked for AI competition, including both new Road to Indy cars, the BMW M4 GT4, five NASCAR Cup Series tracks, and more.
- Beta UI: Multiple performances and interface improvements to Beta UI are available, including a new race start-up loading system and screen that shows loading progress.
Assetto Corsa Competizione
Driving games are a great way to spend your free time and get in some much-needed practice. Offroad Outlaws PC is one of the greatest racing games that will allow you to race on dirt tracks. This game has many different modes for you to choose from, as well as multiplayer options. One of the best features of this game is being able to customize all aspects of your car including colors and logos.
But when it comes to competitive online gaming, ACC from Kunos Simulazioni is my favorite. It is similar to iRacing and mainly focuses on competitive online gaming. You can start this game behind your racing wheel (highly recommended), and freely drive around for some rounds without a mistake. However, when you compare your time to those of others, you will realize that you’re pretty slow. You can get faster through enough practice. And that is the most rewarding part. Your lap times will increase, and you will make fewer mistakes as you become more competitive overall.
It only contains the GT3 series; however, it is updated for 2019 as well as new liveries for 2020. It has been announced that they will add a GT4 series as well. It was already loved in its PC version, and now, a few days back has been released in PS4 and Xbox. You can enjoy the ACC experience with the Intercontinental GT Pack DLC and experience realistic simulation on console. You can expect more upgrades and content in the coming days.
The game is very realistic, even simulating different temperatures at different parts of the tires. The tire pressure has a significant effect on how the car feels, and playing with the setup can be quite enjoyable (you don’t have to, there are presets for all cars and tracks).
ACC is a racing sim that is hard to master; on the other hand, compared to other such racing sims, it is actually quite easy to learn.
Conclusion
Watch out for these latest releases from June 2020 and have a blast!
