iRacing has been relatively quiet about its NASCAR console game. As far as we know, the game is called NASCAR 25 and will be out sometime in the future. That’s why any little nugget of information we receive about the game is valuable, and, for the first time in some time, we have some news.
iRacing will release NASCAR 25 in the fall of 2025. The game, still one year out, will mark the first NASCAR Console game since the release of the NASCAR Rivals on Oct. 14, 2022.
This stretch of rocky ground for NASCAR Console gaming began with the release of Motorsport Games’ NASCAR 21 Ignition on Oct. 28, 2021. Ignition was almost as anticipated as NASCAR 25 but was a relative flop.
The game as a whole had many glitches and unexplainable physics mishaps, as well as a lack of in-depth features. This disappointment led to Motorsport Games riding out their contract with NASCAR by releasing re-skinned versions of past games.
iRacing purchased the NASCAR license on Oct 5, 2023. From the little we know about NASCAR 25, the game is being developed by Monster Games. A past developer of NASCAR games, now owned by iRacing.
We also know that the developers are using Unreal Engine as the game engine. Most importantly, we see the game is getting a release on Xbox, Nintendo, and Playstation consoles, more than likely on the current generation.
However, as far as in-game information goes, we have learned very little beyond one or two artist renderings. Thanks to Executive Vice President Steve Myers, we finally know a little more.
A little over a month ago, we received the first episode of NASCAR 25 Dev Diary from iRacing on YouTube. Since then, the NASCAR 25 new cycle has been quiet. Until Monday afternoon, when iRacing executive Steve Myers had news he had to share about the game physics prototype build.
In this post and the subsequent thread of posts, Myers revealed little about the game’s contents. Fortunately, Myers let fans learn a bit more about NASCAR 25’s gameplay. We, of course, suggest reading the entirety of Myers’ thread to read comments in full with no commentary.
First, Myers made it clear he was not racing other cars. He was, in fact, on an empty track, presumably in some form of a test session. He raced at Atlanta, Bristol, Charlotte, and Homestead, notably experiencing four different types of tracks.
According to Myers, the game is fun, not difficult. This fear of difficulty stems from the use of a controller, a problem of select NASCAR games of the past. However, Myers said it is fun to learn the throttle on a controller rather than feeling like you have little to no control of the car.
Most importantly, we learned that the NASCAR Xfinity Series cars will be in the game. The Xfinity Series was present in NASCAR games from NASCAR 2005: Chase for the Cup to NASCAR 09 before reappearing in NASCAR Heat 2. Notably, neither the Xfinity nor the Truck Series are present in Ignition.
The most important note about the Xfinity Series cars is that Myer clearly states that they drive differently from the Cup Series cars.
This level of depth is a long-awaited wish of NASCAR fans. In real life, the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series have two different styles of racing, but in past NASCAR games, the two series cars have raced the same.
While these are just a few nuggets of information, they are indeed a blessing from the tight-lipped development staff at iRacing. Like many times before, hopes are high, and perhaps this time around, NASCAR fans won’t be let down.
On Tuesday evening, Myers made it clear he was not confirming that the Xfinity Series is in the game past the existence of a car. The team at iRacing wants to have up-to-date tracks before having the series in the game. However, his use of the phrase “but still early” did leave a sense of hope for the Xfinity Series in NASCAR 25 on the table.
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