Over 2,000 votes were cast across these polls - let me know what you think of the results! Oh and in the intro I refer to a ‘compound average’ because I’m a sleep deprived Dad whose brain is slowly failing him. I’ve actually used a ‘weighted average’. Still - don’t @ me! 😅😅😅

one huge problem I see with Rfactor2 and Raceroom is that they don't use the Steam storefront for contet... that and the fact that they don't have localized prices makes those sims really unacessible for players outside EU and NA in general

Epic video! My go-to title is definitely iRacing, with the runner-up being the one and only LFS! Kinds sad that sim wasn't voted on, but it is a 2002 sim. 😂

You should definitely try retro 90s f1 in ams2. I think you would really dig it. Make sure to get this skin mods on overtake , you can have an exact season (1993 is a good example )

iRacing just gets better and better. I've been on there for nearly 2 years now and cant see any sim turning my head any time soon. I generally find that those who are the quickest to criticise are those who havent played and are put off by the pricing model, or havent put the time in beyond a few rookie races. If I'm wrong and there people out there who after years being on iRacing are having a better experience elsewhere, I'd be really intrigued about what your new sim does better.

iRacing has the most ***cough*** invested ***cough*** fanbase, so I'm not surprised. It drove weird when I joined in 2012 and while improved it still drives weird. In 12 years of development time with the money they have at hand I'd imagine they should have reworked the whole game 5 times at the very least. Yet at the core it still has a Nascar game from a bygone era.

This is the first year i haven't gone out and bought the new F1 game after finding iRacing back in november. Its opened my eyes up how good the game is compared to what i used to play!

Iracing since 2010 here. They need to upgrade the FFB, Tire Physics, netcode. They CAN do it (see how rain is incredible), but will they? Rf2, as clunky as it is, gives much better race experiences online to me, constantly fun, close races, even in cars like Porsche Cup where in Iracing you have to be over cautious with traffic (one little touch = one dead), with the tires (too low slip angle and tire "sensation" unlike in Rf2 where it's too much but much more fun). Fun but still you have the same complexity in gameplay than iracing, just different. Also less hotlap videos or other online courses to give you the tricks on how you should drives the cars to get fast (how much brake, how much trail, etc ...), but that's fine, in iracing everyone drives the same at 6k+ IR (personal opinion). Actually I still think some series in RF2 sucks in terms of physics and ffb (catheram, radical), and should never have been put in rookie content, mods sucks at 98% (unless some tracks and 1-2 cars), but lastest official content is god-tier. You really feel the car and, yes, maybe still too much slip angle, but it makes playing with the weight ever more fun, gives you better visual / ffb references as you are not in the car, and it's is better that not enought (IR). Rf2 for me now, in vr, GT3 / BTCC / Porsche CUP, FUN every race. LMU When they get the vr support and GT3 Line.

Great video Ben! Love the community quotes graphics - slick. I wish Raceroom had more people in the online servers.

Brilliant video. I only really race on iRacing, but I often wonder if I should try some of the other titles out there. From the sounds of it, each of the alternatives has at least one deal breaking issue for me.

If you have a good DD wheel and you didn't try AMS1. you are missing out on one of the greatest sim racing driving ever you can feel.

Great video as always, Ben! Is it crazy that I felt like iRacing looked the best out of all of them as well? I love the realistic, grounded look and color scale that iRacing uses. It could certainly utilize modern hardware more efficiently but I think iRacing's graphics are severely underrated. People constantly say they're terrible and while parts of them are definitely dated, overall they nailed the realistic aesthetic better than any other sim.

Didn't get chance to vote... but seems results are on par of what I'd expect (for viewers of this channel, and general feeling in the communities)... though AC isn't any where near 2nd place for me, but I respect it's popularity.

In my opinion 1.Asseto Corsa 2.Iracing 3.Race Room 4.Asseto Corsa Competizione 5.Rfactor2 6.AMS2 (Physics let this title down for me would love to make it number one as a solely VR player) Haven't played Le mans Ultimate yet.

Excellent video Ben

YAY!!! I got mentioned at 1:25! Cool beans I came back to simracing early last year with rFactor2 because I owned it forever but never really had solid and easy way to play online and for a couple of years since it came out I did not even hav a PC that could play it. LFM is the reason I started it. I played it for like 3 months and then got the summer sale full package for Raceroom and found a great community there. Sadly the online ranked system in Raceroom is limited and not very competitive with single split racing of all skills. Usually fighting for top 5s or get crashed out if I dont qualify well. I have not raced Raceroom on ranked besides the big championships for more than 6 months now, due to dropping numbers and the limiting 1 split nature. Occasionally play with my and other communities. During my Raceroom time I also gave rFactor2s new ranked system a go before christmas last year, after LFM let it go. Since it was beta or just out of it, it was very limited in content and pretty grindy to progress. I also only bought the BTCC packs and dont really plan for more at this time. Just around New year's 2024 I started iRacing, because I want to get more into endurance racing (ran 12h of Sebring and 24h of Nords already) and tightly matched competition to improve racecraft and general driving technique and precision. It has been 6 months and I already invested around $600 into content and 2 year sub. I am loving the range of classes and tracks that you can choose from at any time of day for the most part and have a packed race. It is expensive, not denying it, but as an investment into my hobby, it is pretty reasonable. At least when you compare it to the real deal. I only drive Sport and Formula licenses ATM but may try oval and dirt road later down the line. The netcode can be a bit iffy sometimes but the physics are solid and there is more to manage than raceroom, like track temp changing, surface temperature of tyres, the setups for cars are often very daunting compared to rF2 and Raceroom but I am going to learn it at some point. I have read that people complain a lot about the iRacing FFB for non-DD wheelbases, I cant really say, as I got my first DD base in early february and I could not be happier. Every sim is different in some ways, everybody has to try a few and find what they enjoy and can justify. Since Covid this hobby is no longer so niche and many have got a chance to do real life racing because of it.

Oh I missed the poll. My favorites are still AMS2, R3E and modded AC. But you already covered all of their quirks on the video.

Looks like a pretty accurate ranking to me to be honest. Thanks for sharing!

Really enjoyed the video Ben. As an Xbox sim racer this has been super helpful in my research to PC switching. Your trustworthy NE accent helps as well 😉

PLEASE drop the link for that leaderboard overlay in use with the BTCC card in R-Factor 2 at the start???

1. AM2 no one works harder to improve their product. 2. AC Improved by racers for racers, not profit. 3. PC2 just love the unequalled career mode.

My go to is still GTR2, it's just so much fun, it holds up (with abit of modding), it's super immersive still and puts a big grin on my face

Iracing would be 5/5 if the cars and tracks were just a little cheaper

All points seem fair to me tbh I rarely play ACC because I simply don’t enjoy GT3 or GT4 (I haven’t bothered to buy GT2 dlc, might do when it’s cheap in a sale) I enjoy some AC mods but rarely want to play it for some reason I mostly play RF2 because I enjoy the online rookie Caterham & Radical & open wheel races (the BMW M2 is horrible tho) I’d play AMS2 much more if it had a decent online system similar to RF2 - it’s amazing for historic F1 I cannot justify the £££ for iRacing as I’m a casual gamer, not particularly fast 😂

Always had a soft spot for Automobolista2! Hope they can hook people again. Iracing killing it atm IMO

The fact Forza didn't get a mention is criminal (/sarcasm) 😉 So I tried R3E again yesterday for the first time in a long while and I think it is my favourite physic engine. Got so much detail though my wheel in what the suspension and tyres were doing, much more than I get from iRacing. I think at the moment iRacing is the best combination of what most people want in a sim. Current and extensive content in lots of different disciplines with lots of competition. If R3E had more players and a more robust online ranking system i think iRacing could see their numbers take a big hit due to its F2P model and cheaper content. Great video Ben

Also would be keen to see where GT7 sits between all these, they always have a strong playerbase

Fantastic video Ben. I would have thought ACC would have been higher.

LeMans Ultimate is 100% and WEC Dlc foor RFactor 2...they havent change nothing lol

iRacing is great until you realise it's basically a money making scam, and is a huge rip-off. £100 a year for barely any content, massively overpriced car and track addons, all with graphics from 2010. The only people who I see who recommend iRacing are those already balls deep into the scheme trying to recruit others, and who defend their decisions/opinions with aggression towards anyone who says anything negative about it. I've played iRacing multiple times throughout the years, the sim itself is alright, nothing special, physics are wonky at times, but the monetisation always makes me loath it. Absolutely scumbaggery to charge what they do and give you barely anything in return. A subscription model should include most if not all of the content, especially one that's £100 per year. I don't pay for Netflix then have to buy the movies to be able to watch them, so why do people defend iRacing's insane scheme?

My issue with ACC is the FFB drops if you alt+enter

From the sims I've tried I definitely prefer R3E and AC, because for me it's about the handling and the physics modeling, not about graphics. And I can jump between those two really easily, just lap or two to adapt, they IMO behave pretty similar.

Here's hoping AC Evo can be a 5/5 stars

iRacing is so far ahead of the competition and the gap is, if anything, widening. Many simmers have never grasped the concept that quality costs money and you get what you pay for. And yet these are often the same folks who spend thousands on sim hardware. I find it almost amusing that people say there's no Indycar or Nascar game right now, and yet it's all available in stunning fashion in both single and multi-player on iRacing. The continuous updates and attention to detail by the developers are second to none. iRacing just gets better and my advice to those who haven't tried it lately is to have another go. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

I’ve never raced LMU either, but launching chargeable dlc before getting the game working properly and into 1.0 seems like a really scummy move.

As a rally aficionado, I have yet to find the track sim that will make me love racing. -iRacing has been my most played one but it's getting really expensive and netcode & tire model are weird. -LMU has the best feeling for me but is limited (I would love slower cars as well but not possible). -AC is a classic but I only drift or do street racing. -rFactor 2 is also expensive and I can't start from scratch after buying so much content on iRacing. -Automobilista 2 feels good but too bad nobody plays it online and I don't feel like trying hard on a solo mode. -ACC has distracting graphics on a medium computer. I wish it had cleaner graphics like iRacing but it looks awful and has weird aliasing (please stop using unreal Engine for racing games, EA WRC looks weird as well). Also the FFB feels weird even with the "new" damping option. Maybe AC Evo will be the one ?

People are Crazy. Rfactor 2 and raceroom are the best

Le Mans Ultimate is on the rFactor2 engine. If rFactor2 is dropping de I dont think it wil be good for Le mans.

I love iracing and play it nearly everyday but there are 2 big strikes against it. 1) The graphics are outdated and meh. The original AC looks better. 2) It’s gawdawful expensive!!!! I have no problem with their monthly subscription but charging for every single track and car adds up very fast. And each season, no matter what you race, they’ll figure out a way to make sure you need to buy a bunch of tracks to participate. I swear they have an algorithm that looks at what people are driving and maximizes their potential revenue based on tracks those people don’t have. I wonder what buying every track and car would cost? There’s a video idea for you.

Thanks for your review rating video. I look at all my virtual racing games from the OFFLINE racing aspects since I don't have enough time anymore to do online racing like I did years ago. I also do all my STEAM games in VR. I would rate some of the games you mention a little higher ratings and enjoy them all. For me, I like the racing games that provide a variety of different types of racing and that provide several mods to choose from. I have all the games mentioned in the video except for LMU and IRacing. Other racing games I have which you do not mention in the video and I find are fun to do racing with are the F1-22 , F1-23 and several of the Bike racing games. I just select a track, a vehicle/bike, and go do race. I have converted a few of the Bike games over to VR with the UEVR injector program and they are a blast now racing in the first person bike riding view. I also do the F1 games also in VR. i may get LMU game later when I see what the game provides and buy it on sale. It looks like they are going to be adding allot of paid DLC addons - whether that is good or bad thing, don't know. Right now with just 7 tracks really does not interest me. Plus my other games have the same tracks, I don't care how accurate they are - its a game. I don't do IRacing. I will not pay for subscriptions to have to race in this game, no matter how good it is. Like I said before, I don't have time for any online racing.

AMS2 all day

iRacing is outstanding and I barely touched other sims once I started on it around 8 months ago. Being fast on iRacing is considerably harder then any other sim, requires more precision, and feels more rewarding when you get right. Ranking and racing searies system is also awesome. Rain is also unmatched HOWEVER: their business model is outrageous, I can't think of another game that requires you to pay for subscription AND for content to the same extent; 60hz force feedback is a joke, we're in 2024. For those of us that aren't on a base with upsampling filters, it feels horrendous, downloading irffb is a must. You need a ffb pluguin, then you also download an overlay pluguin, a spotter pluguin... etc, you get the point. In-game user interface looks as if it was designed in 1998. Considering what we are paying, that's pretty unacceptable imo. Unfortunately, iRacing doesn't have REAL competition. High hopes for AC2 🙌

ACC and LMU deserved more and Iracing less. I tried the 3 months Iracing membership twice and I just cannot stick to it. Graphics, sound, FFB, tire model, NETCO and an outdated looking UI. I understand it has the best online experience but that’s the only thing they do better. People have just been brainwashed into believing it’s the most accurate simulator and just won’t even try other better options

One thing though on ACC VR has really improved if you know which settings to change. In fact it is much sharper now without the blur veil typical to UE4. For me it also improved a lot the performance so that it is the best VR experience of any sim on my RTX4090 and Pimax Crystal @ 120Hz!

The problem with ranking sims is that it is totally biased and subjective. Only 1% of us are actually pilots and I dare to say that 90% users are PC dummies who are not able to setup their PC properly. Especially in VR! 😂

@3:16 I'm famous!!!!

Iracing is irksome because you have to pay a subscription and pay for the content, if you own an entry level wheel, plug and play is not there, FFB is non existent unless you download 3rd party software. Would in my opinion be served well by an interactive driving school.

La Broca. You will Play LMU and realize it's Physics FFB and Net code is superior to IRacing

Iracing gets continually updated because you must continually pay. The make new content to force people to make more purchases.

AMS2's sound design is atrocious

Good journalism. Sim racing is stagnating. LMU has to be viewed as a failure to date, and the rest are old news, just trundling along, forever getting patched, never fully polished.

Hahahaha…. Thank you to everyone who believes Iracing is good. I almost shit myself lol…. The business model is a scam, the Classes only make sense to make people purchase content, the algorithms for SR & IR are trash. But I guess some people have to be SHEEP… lol. Oh yeah and since the huge boom in sim racing over the last three years making cheap equipment the number of Iracing’s consumer base has quadrupled. This has added a huge increase in people with zero racing knowledge and skill to the platform. Bravo to 90% of the sim racing community for living in the dark. Thanks for the laugh! The platform literally doesn’t make sense… hahaha

Would love to try iracing but subscription+ buy cars+ buy tracks... Just dont want to support that.

I wish iRacing's community wasn't a berserker army of angry people who will jump at your jugular if you dare to criticize something about it.

So state of sim racing...... U don't have gt 7, one of the most played sims, one of the most complete sims, great online ranking system........best all round title.

Lol, this is a joke.

iRacing at p1 ... 😂😂😂😂 Shit tyre model,bad ffb ,unless you use irffb software,it help a bit,expensive AF with a paper cars where one small contact on the start can finish your race. iRacing is very competitive,true,but everything else is worst then in AC,ACC and ULM ... 😂😂😂

Alex who said AC has terrible FFB is on G29 mounted to a desk or what? 🫠