Sim racing is flourishing, but what happened to the arcade racer?
The racing game genre has undergone a significant shift, with simulation racing largely supplanting traditional arcade-style racers in the mainstream market. The author, who grew up playing classic arcade racing titles like Lego Racers on early Windows PCs and Gran Turismo 2 on PlayStation, reflects on how the gaming landscape has fundamentally changed. While initially drawn away from sim racing’s complexity, they found themselves forced to adapt as the genre became increasingly dominant.
This shift became apparent when the author purchased an entry-level sim racing setup—a Thrustmaster T150 RS wheel with pedals and shifter—to engage with modern racing games. Their experience with Forza Horizon 4 highlighted the industry’s new direction: arcade racers, which once defined the casual gaming market, have largely disappeared from mainstream consciousness. The transition from simple, accessible racing games to more complex simulation experiences reflects broader industry trends toward specialized gaming hardware and more demanding gameplay mechanics.
The article explores what became of the arcade racer genre that defined racing games for decades, examining how market forces and player preferences have consolidated around sim racing as the primary racing game experience available to mainstream audiences.