These No-Cost Racing Games Prove There Is Such A Thing As A Free Lunch

So you spent your whole paycheck building a sweet racing sim setup? Don’t worry, there are plenty of good racing games you can enjoy for free while you plan how to spend the next paycheck.

Note: we’ve geared this list toward PC gaming, where there is a large supply of free games.

Need for Speed World

This massively multiplayer online racing game lets you race against friends through Facebook Connect or take on the top players in the world. Race in new cars or experience the classics in 60 exciting levels. There are a series of fictional maps where you can race over 100 officially licensed vehicles. You can choose to pay for upgrades or earn them by doing well in your races, and like all good racing games there is a lot of room for customisation.

The Need for Speed World is constantly changing as new content is added, and users can participate in new challenges every day. For example, you can find icons in a different treasure hunt each day and get rewarded for your streak of completed hunts, or join the online community forum to enter contests like the screenshot of the month, find the secret place or guess the car. Winners are all rewarded with in-game prizes such as new cars.

Racer – The Real Deal

With over 10 years in development, Racer has achieved realistic physics and graphics with its extensive supply of user-created cars and tracks. While you may miss the social bragging of the massive multiplayer race games, this title stands out from the rest. Open-source rendering, support programs and editors allow just about anyone to try their hand at creating their own racing experience. If you are obsessed with your car and local track, go on and create them for the world to enjoy.

If you want to break into the gaming development field, this simulator project will be a great way to train yourself with lots of support from others worldwide.

Stunt Rally

It may not have the best graphics or sound, but Stunt Rally still holds lots of entertainment value. The open-source simulation game features 153 tracks, 19 cars and a track editor. The closed rally tracks are full of turns, jumps and pipes to send your car flying. You can play single player or compete in online multiplayer mode making this game both versatile and socially competitive. Updated versions are released regularly, and the latest version was released 11th May, 2014.

Trackmania Nations Forever

This game has been out for quite some time, but is still a great casual racer with its own track builder. 65 tracks start out easy to master then get increasingly difficult as you go, and the Trackmania servers hold thousands of other tracks where you can race with millions of players online. Like the grown up digital version of Hot Wheels, gamers can create then race on loops and inverted tracks. This imaginative and fast-paced game is a nice change from conventional racers.

Drift City

It’s not packed with intense realistic graphics or cutting-edge physics, but Drift City is still a fun racer that brings back an old-school feel with its anime-style characters and cars. You can follow the main story line, race in the Battle Zone, complete side missions or just drive around aimlessly exploring the map. You can keep coming back for daily missions to earn tokens which can be exchanged for items. The car selection is limited, but you can buy several different performance upgrades to help you along the way. Drift City is best for younger drivers and those trying to take a casual break from hardcore racing games.

Auto Club Revolution

Stunning graphics, realistic environment interaction and tonnes of licensed cars make ACR one highly-praised, free to play game. Hard work in development paid off after teams of manufacturers, engineers, programmers and testers came together to build an amazing new racer that can compete with some of the top paid-for games.

A closed beta version of the game - 2.0 - will launch 16th June to fully remodel the existing game and prepare for virtual reality technology. Existing players will automatically gain access to the new version, and new players will be able to register for a chance to experience it once the closed beta starts. The game is already highly addictive, and the new release promises to be followed by even more improvements to keep racers hooked. This game is fantastic and best enjoyed from a simulator seat.

Honourable mentions and sponsored games

A special mention goes to RaceRoom Racing Experience, Driving Speed 2, HEAT Online and hundreds of other free racing games not listed. There is also a growing trend for manufacturers to release their own free racing simulators to promote their brand. Companies like BMW, Volvo, Mercedes and Renault trucks have successfully launched free racing games in the past few years, and others will continue to do so.

When it comes to downloading a great free racing game, there are a few things to bear in mind: firstly, make sure your computer can support the graphics load. Secondly, make sure you download from a trusted site free of viruses, and lastly, be prepared to see adverts for in-game purchases. Now go explore and don’t forget to share your favourite free games with us too!