Best Free Racing Games on Steam in 2023

Copa Petrobras de Marcas is a great free racing game.jpg
Everyone likes getting access to a game for free. But it is often difficult finding a game that won't impact your bank balance whilst still being a quality title. Here's your list for the best racing games on Steam for free in 2023.

Image Credit: Reiza Studios

New racing games release all the time. But in a cost of living crisis, not everyone can confidently throw triple-A money on a little-known racing simulator. If, like the majority of the racing community, you're feeling strapped for cash but still want to get your hands on a new game, Steam may have some options for you.

Whilst there are some gems out there, many free racing games can leave you displeased. Here's a deep dive list into the best and top rated ones you might want to try.

GPRO - Classic racing manager​

A brand new title, having released in February of this year, GPRO is an alternative motorsport manager game. Originally, this title featuring classic formula cars released as a web browser game. Since, it has hit App stores having been converted to mobile gaming and is available for free on Steam for PC.

GPRO is a free motorsport manager game.jpg


Unlike the F1 Manager game that came out last year, this is a massively multiplayer title allowing players to embody the role of a team manager and go up against others in long seasons. Each season reportedly lasts two months in the real world with races taking place just twice a week.

This manager game is focused on car development rather than race strategy as one doesn't need to be present during the races. However, it is recommended to watch along with other team managers as you can discuss the event with fellow players online. A different take on the motorsport manager style, this free to play title is certainly worth a try, especially given its positive reviews on Steam.

Rekt: Crash Test​

Yet another tech demo that has become its own title, Rekt: Crash Test is a stunt driving game. Featuring many vehicle models and a large arena in which players must perform certain stunts, it is supposedly inspired by the likes of Rush and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series.

REKT test crash.jpg


The player experience is all about performing stunts and completing objectives listed by the game. Complete these by yourself or in a multiplayer environment, be it online or in a split-screen format. Countless PvP modes include capture the flag, infection and traditional races. According to the developers, the game has a player base of over 170,000 people. Along with its randomised challenge system allows for almost infinite playability.

Inertial Drift: Sunset Prologue​

Inertial Drift is a game that released on Steam in the Summer of 2020. A full-price title, it has a little sibling that was released prior to the main game and used as a tech demo. Getting players excited for the full game, Sunset Prologue features the same twin stick drifting mechanics which is sure to fry many brains the first time they try it.

Inertial Drift has a free tech demo with great playability.jpg


Akin to the full release, it looks great thanks to a cartoonish design style with smoke graphics similar to those in Need For Speed Unbound. The game is set in a so-called "90's retro future and whilst the full Inertial Drift has a 16-car and 20-track roster, Sunset Prologue gets two tracks and two cars. This small tech demo only features an online lap time leader board competition system, but the full game gets a PvP style race mode.

Stream Racer​

Built for online content creators, Stream Racer is a game in which streamers can set up their own races and have fans join them on totally custom tracks. Visually, one could compare this title to the popular mobile game, Crossy Road while the gameplay greatly resembles Marbles on Stream.

Stream Racer.png


Released in 2020, it has gained wide-ranging appreciation for its community-centric style. In fact, Steam reviews rate Stream Racer as one of the best free-to-play racing games.

Vecter​

Not strictly a racing game, Vecter is a throwback to the good old days of arcade gaming. Jump behind the controls of a flying vehicle and compete in this endless runner world as you do your best to set a high score. Do this by travelling as far as you can in the world without crashing into the many obstacles that stand in your way.

Vecter.jpg


Tron-style graphics and simplistic yet fun gameplay are certainly the reasons behind this game's excellent reviews. It seems the Steam community is a great fan of this free-to-play title in which the player takes control of a vehicle. That's the definition of a racing game, right?

Which free racing games would you suggest the community tries out?
About author
Angus Martin
Motorsport gets my blood pumping more than anything else. Be it physical or virtual, I'm down to bang doors.

Comments

If you can get it for free, it has full functionality and you can play as much as you want, it's a free game.Having to pay to get more content doesn't make it a "demo" or a "freemium".
The free Raceroom still has some nice content. Nice cars and tracks. A few of them but still a nice and diverse selection.
A Demo is a tiny little piece of a game and in many occasions you can only play for a limited time. If free Raceroom was a "demo", you would get only one or two cars and one or two tracks.
 
Premium
Odd that the "free" game that is raceroom is held back by its exorbitant pricing model.

Well, that and its super-mega-fugly.....
 
Cheap isn't the same as free though
True, but it helps with impulse purchasing :)
Some say that consumers are naturally wired to reject low prices and correlate higher prices with quality.

As for some of the games listed, fair enough, none of them are pretending to be Simulators.
 
Like others above, very confused as to why a screenshot from a game not listed in the article would appear in the promotional photo for the article. Perhaps simply an editing mistake? Especially when Copa Petrobras de Marcas is the best free sim racing title I'm aware of. Sure, as others have said above, its content is somewhat limited, but for free it gives you something quite high-quality to play with!
 
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Oh I am not saying it's a bad game. It's a fantastic sim. But it doesn't fit the free games article. You can't ride the same Free-to-Play train for 10 years in a row imo.


I could do this with the RACE 06 and RACE 07 demo as well but we didn't list those either. :)

But it's just as free to play as your listed Initial Drift game, which is just a demo unless you pay the full price... two tracks and two cars. It's pretty much the same model as R3E, except without being able to test drive the other cars and no PVP.

And you mention the Race 07 demo... well, maybe that is the same criteria as Initial Drift so should have been included.

A confusing article that seems to pick on specific games over a broader look at the genre without bias.

If you're looking at low-price games for the budget racer, R3E is certainly in the mix and current. I'd also call out GTR2 - that's under $10 for a set of content that's still a great racing experience.

But then that's a slippery slope into AC which in terms of car/track/racing goes is financially unbeatable really, so much free content out there, and still very current if you're prepared to put the time in.

It could make a great article to talk to the budget racer experience I think.
 

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Angus Martin
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