Why 2015 Was The Best Year For Gamers, And What's Coming In 2016

What a glorious year it's been for racing gamers in 2015! Last year welcomed millions of new gamers into the racing genre and experienced more realism than ever. Can 2016 even come close?
Why 2015 Was The Best Year For Gamers, And What's Coming In 2016

I can’t help but reminisce on the good times we had last year in the racing game world. These major racing games, along with indie titles, set out with a healthy dose of competition in 2015:

  • Forza 6
  • F1 2015
  • Project CARS
  • DiRT Rally
  • NFS 2015
  • The Crew: Wild Run
  • GTA V (remastered and released on PC)

The Crew, Driveclub, Forza Horizon 2 and Assetto Corsa were released at the end of 2014 and kept their popularity through 2015 and there was every type of racing we could imagine.

Forza 6 hit over 1 million copies sold since its release in September, pushing the franchise total to over 11 million copies.
Forza 6 hit over 1 million copies sold since its release in September,…

It’s because of the insane variety last year, that there was a game for every taste. There were road courses, off-road courses, tracks, and open-world roaming to play with our supercars, clunkers, motorcycles and more. Gamers of all levels and interests got their hands on a racing wheel last year. We also saw China lift a 14-year ban on video game consoles, encouraging even more new players in the coming years.

I once thought this was as good as it would ever be...
I once thought this was as good as it would ever be...

The capabilities of our gaming systems are insane, and it’s absolutely necessary at this point to keep up with our demand for realistic racing. If you could go back in time and explain today’s gaming systems to your younger self, you would blow your own mind. Not only are we living the dream with force feedback wheels, adjustable pedals and hundreds of customisable driver settings, we’ve also gone head first into the world of virtual reality. Now, we can shut out the outside world and truly feel part of the race.

Remote video URL

Not only did the new wheels help us get the most out of the latest games, they also let us relive some older titles in a new way. This year, new VR headsets and wheels will emerge, keeping us entertained until the next new game arrival. The new Oculus Rift headsets are shipping out now, and may be the key to keeping the excitement rolling. Forza 6 and Project CARS are already supported on the headsets, while Microsoft pushes to soon make all current Xbox and PC games compatible with the Rift (Gran Turismo Sport will be supported from the day of release).

Why 2015 Was The Best Year For Gamers, And What's Coming In 2016

2016 won’t be the year of a dozen more robust games, but you can keep your heads up for these new releases:

  • January: Sébastien Loeb Rally EVO
  • March: Trackmania Turbo
  • April: Assetto Corsa and DiRT Rally on Xbox One and PS4 for the first time
  • Late 2016: Gran Turismo Sport and a possible beta version of GT7
  • Sometime 2016: Project CARS 2
  • Not likely, but we can hope 2016: DiRT 4
Why 2015 Was The Best Year For Gamers, And What's Coming In 2016

We will likely see just as many major updates, new tracks, new cars and new gameplay modes as we did last year. All the big publishers will continue to compete for your business, and producing new content is the only way to keep their sales on top. In January, Project CARS, Driveclub, The Crew, Assetto Corsa and Forza 6 will all be adding new content. iRacing, RaceRoom and rFactor 2 players, as always, will have new content coming in all year long.

Am I just being overly optimistic, or does the racing game scene in 2016 seem like it will be just as great as it was in 2015? I feel like despite not having a wave of release dates lined up, the improvements to existing games and peripherals will be tremendous. Plus, the prices of last year’s games are already dropping, making them well worth the money.

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Comments

Joao Hipolito

I’m sorry but… What’s the game in the pic with the EVO on it?
Look’s like TOCA to me

01/09/2016 - 13:43 |
0 | 0

It’s a picture from the first Forza Motorsport

01/09/2016 - 14:47 |
1 | 0
Anonymous

Does anyone know anything about Forza Horizon 3? Or is it just a myth? :)

01/09/2016 - 13:45 |
0 | 0
Jonny 3

As a PS4 I am really envious on X1 owners just because of Forza :(

01/09/2016 - 13:51 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

I haven’t bought any race game in the past year

01/09/2016 - 14:07 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

Turn Ten is dumb. They only make Forza for the Xbox, which is completely unreasonable. PC’s and the PS4 offer much better Graphics and Running Power and I don’t need to tell you about PC’s. I don’t know why Turd Ten does this, but it’s frustrating. I don’t have a Xbox.

01/09/2016 - 14:07 |
0 | 0
V8

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

That’s the only reasonsble way to do it for M$. Because you have to buy their console in order to play it. Same with PS4, exclusives are the only way to “make” you buy one console or another.

I can see only one way that Forza could land on the Master Race platform, when it will need “Windows 14” in order to play and that Windows will take invigilation to the next level.

01/09/2016 - 15:56 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

Me right now

01/09/2016 - 14:12 |
18 | 0
Sam Lawler

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

Xbox 360*

01/09/2016 - 15:10 |
4 | 2
Anonymous

In reply to by Anonymous (not verified)

This is exactly the reason why I got a Xbox one, that and I was tired of gt’s crappy servers

01/09/2016 - 22:15 |
0 | 0
Anonymous

Its been a while since you did an article.. where have you been?

01/09/2016 - 14:48 |
2 | 0
Arny Cunningham

NFS was personally my favorite game because it has a lot of customization options very famous cars and also the graphics are amazing Plaza has great race is nice characters great setup personally I think that the best NFS stats come out yet

01/09/2016 - 14:48 |
2 | 0
Mr.Roberts

Assetto Corsa is still my go to Sim though

01/09/2016 - 15:00 |
2 | 0
Jeff Sine

Forza Horizon 3

01/09/2016 - 15:42 |
0 | 0