Most Played Racing Games on Steam in September 2023

BeamNG.drive Most Played on Steam September 2023.jpg
The popularity of racing games and simulations is hard to gauge, especially since they seem to vary considerably around the releases of new content, big updates or even influences of real-world events. What can be gauged, however, is cold, hard numbers – so we did just that for the most played racing games on Steam in September 2023.

Image credit: BeamNG

Note: While iRacing is available on Steam as well, its numbers are not representative as most players acces the sim through its own UI. As a result, its statistics are not included in this article.

September 2023 shook things up quite a bit in the world of the most played racing games on Steam. The effect of upcoming releases could already be felt in some cases, and a substantial update catapulted a new title onto the throne.

BeamNG.drive Tops List​

After months of reigning supreme, Forza Horizon 5 is no longer running up front. Instead, BeamNG.drive has taken the lead after its most recent update. The game has added experimental VR support with v0.30 – as a result, player counts increased enough to snatch P1 from FH5.

Meanwhile, DiRT Rally 2.0 has seen a considerable influx of players again. This is likely due to the in-depth looks at its successor EA Sports WRC presented over the last few weeks. While the title will only release in early November, racers seem to be keen to get back on the stages.

Interestingly, Need for Speed Heat has jumped up the list with a remarkable increase of over 200% in average players. Its successor Need for Speed Unbound, on the other hand, took a marginal hit. That is while having nowhere near the average player count of the older game, though.

Check out the numbers of the most played racing games on Steam in September 2023 below!

Most Played Racing Games on Steam September 2023​

TitleAvg. PlayersPeakGain %
BeamNG.drive10997,2232104,12
Forza Horizon 51078824051-16,85
Assetto Corsa8263,2158463,95
Forza Horizon 44822,412346-14
Need for Speed Heat4187,210651213,68
F1 233257,981280,56
SnowRunner32106746-4,63
CarX Drift Racing Online2397,64400-0,01
Assetto Corsa Competizione2283,7640314,17
MX Bikes1703,333516,05
F1 Manager 202313802937-41,61
F1 2211342558-9,96
Need for Speed Unbound1034,52198-5,99
Dirt Rally 2.01031,3227524,09
My Summer Car998,12214-20,02
The Crew 2877,11558-23,09
Trackmania802,11807-4,48
Asphalt 9 Legends686,31383-0,82
F1 Manager 2022469928-33,38
RaceRoom449,81205-1,39
Wreckfest4291035-10,61
rFactor 24049796,26
Automobilista 2379,8847-22,97
MudRunner379,4102139,28
Disney Speedstorm376,76759350,75
F1 2021309,5674-12,63

What are your thoughts on the most played racing games on Steam in September 2023? Let us know on Twitter @OverTake_gg or in the comments below!
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About author
Yannik Haustein
Yannik Haustein
Lifelong motorsport enthusiast and sim racing aficionado, walking racing history encyclopedia.

Sim racing editor, streamer and one half of the SimRacing Buddies podcast (warning, German!).

Heel & Toe Gang 4 life :D

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Comments

Cote Dazur
The game has added experimental VR support with v0.30 – as a result, player counts increased enough to snatch P1 from FH5.
Click to expand...
This should put to rest the argument that VR is not an important aspect of any SIM, that it is marginal because not so many people use it.
As we are getting to the of 2023, VR is now a must, any developer not on that page yet, as some reading to do. :D
 
Nick Bell
what were the iRacing numbers just out of curiosity? like 100 people?

They should bring back the steam link and let it report to your profile finished 3rd in split 1 of 12 for example like you used to be able to share to facebook. Or some form of iracing stat integration on steam. - Then you would atleast get some kind of 10k numbers :)
 
P
Alex Harkett said:
Surprised AMS2 is quite so low if I’m honest. Although that said, I’ve not fired it up in quite a while…
Click to expand...
Not surprised personally. Atm Time Trial leaderboards remain disabled, which is a big turnoff for many (not me). This is because Reiza wants to start anew with them when the next update releases. It has not happened yet because while working on it, they found something extra on the tyre model that was a considerable gain in fidelity, but prompted a rework on all cars again.

I have been doing beta testing, and in my opinion, the jump from current public version to the most worked on betas is bigger than the one done from version 1.4 to 1.5. When the latter was released, I said that I didn't believe it would change the minds of AMS2 detractors. What's being cooked now...that may (and I emphasize MAY) do it.
 
D
Cote Dazur said:
This should put to rest the argument that VR is not an important aspect of any SIM, that it is marginal because not so many people use it.
As we are getting to the of 2023, VR is now a must, any developer not on that page yet, as some reading to do. :D
Click to expand...
ACC did nothing and gained more percentage wise 14.17% vs 4.12% BeamNG.
Let's not forget that besides VR support BeamNG had new content drop which also helped.
How do you people play it, I've tried it few times, my kids tried, it's bloody boring and shallow, car damage simulation?

Next month it will be Forza Motorsport at the top.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
vitorhs
Nick Bell said:
what were the iRacing numbers just out of curiosity? like 100 people?

They should bring back the steam link and let it report to your profile finished 3rd in split 1 of 12 for example like you used to be able to share to facebook. Or some form of iracing stat integration on steam. - Then you would atleast get some kind of 10k numbers :)
Click to expand...
In the new UI exists a counter of how many people is online. You have to take the number with some "wariness" because this starts to count people as "online" soon you log in the game on Steam or in the member site, but the number itself is always around +/- 10k
 
Last edited:
SharkVA
pai said:
Not surprised personally. Atm Time Trial leaderboards remain disabled, which is a big turnoff for many (not me). This is because Reiza wants to start anew with them when the next update releases. It has not happened yet because while working on it, they found something extra on the tyre model that was a considerable gain in fidelity, but prompted a rework on all cars again.

I have been doing beta testing, and in my opinion, the jump from current public version to the most worked on betas is bigger than the one done from version 1.4 to 1.5. When the latter was released, I said that I didn't believe it would change the minds of AMS2 detractors. What's being cooked now...that may (and I emphasize MAY) do it.
Click to expand...
That's exciting, because I was very impressed by the progress they made with v1.5. AMS2 collected dust for many, many months (as did my sim rig for that matter). Since 1.5, it's been a weekly experience for me. Taking the retro cars out in VR around historical track layouts and cranking the sound level up...holy smokes what a fun time AMS2 has become. Add in the livery and driver name mods...hell yes Reiza.
 
T
Who still plays My Summer Car? I played it once and it was fun but as soon as i fixed and tuned the car to perfection there was nothing else to do. The game is hardcore but empty.
 
Durge Driven
Cote Dazur said:
This should put to rest the argument that VR is not an important aspect of any SIM, that it is marginal because not so many people use it.
As we are getting to the of 2023, VR is now a must, any developer not on that page yet, as some reading to do. :D
Click to expand...


Sad, too many VR, steering wheels and the rest.
None of them do the job 100%.
That is why the hobby costs so much.
If they joined forces they would create a best headset

Like phones, they would cost more and there would be more issues if 100 companies made them.
 
Shannon Flynn
fatal said:
Poor AMS2...the game we all waited for, but nobody plays it
Click to expand...
I think it let myself and many other people down. For now at least. Currently in dev, so we'll see.
I also think AMS2 numbers aren't entirely accurate because a LOT of people play the notformedia beta. Everyone I know plays that exclusively.
I'm guessing the beta isn't included in the player count?
Bet it's actually like triple those numbers
 

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