12 Best PS5 Open-World Racing Games

The leap from PS1 to PS2 brought about an increase in graphics and processing power, allowing developers to create larger and more expansive, open-ended worlds that gamers can get themselves lost in. Hit titles such as Need for Speed: Underground 2, Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition, and even Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas have paved the way for how open worlds should look in the years to come. As the PS3 to PS4 era rolled around, developers enjoyed a fluidity in the connection between themselves and gamers allowing for more post-release content and support. Now with the PS5 being on the scene for over two years already, we’ve decided to compile a list of some of the best PS5 open-world racing games that you can play now.

#12 The Crew Motorfest

Platform: PC PS4 Xbox One PS5 XSX|S
Release Date: September 14, 2023

Epic | PlayStation | Xbox

It’s true that many racing titles focus solely on the racing aspect of things because many gamers want to go fast and prove they’re faster than others. But it’s the multiplayer where racing games truly come into their own and showcase just how grand they are.

In The Crew Motorfest, you’ll be on the island of Oahu and have numerous options to play with alongside friends and rivals! You can head to the track and race on perfect surfaces, or you can head to the streets and see who can best put the pedal to the metal on the concrete surface.

When you add that to the campaigns, car selections, and more, you’d be foolish not to try this title.

#11 Need For Speed Unbound

Developer: Criterion Games
Publisher: Electronic Arts Inc.
Platfrom : PC PS5 XSX|X
Release Date : December 02, 2022

There’s a simple reason you get the PS5. You want to play video games on some of the highest resolutions and framerates possible, and that console has the ability to do it for you. Every game you get on the system will be cranked up to the max so you can get the best experience on it.

So what if the experience you want is an intense racing title? Then you should get Need For Speed Unbound!

The latest in the beloved racing franchise gives you a modern racing experience by infusing more style and modern music than ever before. So get in the driver’s seat and see where things take you.

#10 Riders Republic

• Single-player
• Co-op up to 4 players
• Online multiplayer up to 8

Take Steep and The Crew, mash them up, and you get Rider’s Republic, an open-world racing game with an emphasis on extreme sports rather than cars. Participate in intense BMX races, snowboard or ski down mountains, jetpack down canyons, or speed downhill faces in a wingsuit.

All of the gear is switchable while playing, so if you find yourself at the top of a mountain with a BMX, fear not! Just drive off the edge, do a couple of backflips, and switch to your wingsuit.

The game has all the bells and whistles that a next-generation game would have – a populated social open-world, crossplay between Xbox, PC, and PS5, and, of course, enough post-launch content to keep your character eye-popping as long as your wallet holds.

#9 Need For Speed: Rivals

• Single-player
• Online multiplayer up to 8 players

Released back in 2014, Need for Speed: Rivals pits two factions of lawmakers and lawbreakers against each other. It’s both an all-out battle between who can outsmart who when it comes to gadgets and gear and who has the fastest cars in the garage. Judging by the reviews, it looks like there’s enough exploration to keep you driving for hours, but not much in the way of ‘free’ exploration. The game is most definitely an arcade action racer, and this aspect outshines the free-roam aspects.

Both factions have their own unique abilities to take on the opposing faction. Multiplayer looks like tons of fun and builds on Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit’s Autolog system – this time with another social system called Alldrive. Alldrive allows other players to also free-roam in the same map as you who you may race with or against. The more players that there are in a group, the bigger chance there is to gain points.

#8 The Crew 2 

• Single-player
• Multiplayer up to 4 players

Originally released for the PS4, The Crew 2 puts you in the shoes of an ambitious racer looking to become the best land, air, and sea racer on the planet. You’ll compete with 4 different families of racers unlocking specific car bodies and parts per family. The game really shines in its recreation of the United States–players can explore The Rocky Mountains, lock into the grid of New York City, or drive along the Mississippi River. As usual, the cars are customizable and have unlockable parts based on rarity that you can earn throughout the game.

#7 Dakar 18 

• Single-player
• Splitscreen
• Online multiplayer up to 8 players

Developed by Deep Silver, Dakar 18 is a game based on an intensive annual off-road rally race organized by the same group behind the Tour De France.

The game is absolutely massive, featuring over 11,000 miles of explorable land split between South American countries Bolivia, Argentina, and Peru. The environment is also completely dynamic, simulating a real environmental cycle. Driving in heavy rain? Try to avoid getting stuck in the mud. Cruising over rocks? Just make sure that your tires don’t get stuck in crevices. Braving the blistering Sun? Avoid the dry sand!

Besides the in-depth exploration aspect, you’ll also be able to compete in races online and offline in three different modes: Rookie, Competitor, and Legend. In Rookie Mode, players have a compass and vehicles are more difficult to repair. In Competitor Mode, there is no compass, vehicles are more fragile, and repairs cost more points. Legend Mode is unlocked once the player beats competitor mode.

#6 Mad Max

• Single-player

One of the best free-roam racing games you’ll play on the PS5, Mad Max is a joy to play. Drive your scrappy V8 powered car of death throughout the wasteland scavenging parts for upgrades, take down bandit parties using vehicle weaponry, and partake in Death Runs–arcade-style races where you get to pit your car up against other wasteland natives like yourself. But remember– your car is only as good as the one behind the wheel! Don’t forget to upgrade your character’s survival skills, armor, and hand-to-hand combat abilities before taking to the open road.

#5 Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – Definitive Edition 

• Single-player

Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy combines three games into a singular edition remastered for the PS5. Giving players full access to the iconic worlds of Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on new generation platforms, players can choose from a wide variety of cars to store at their homes and drive around at their leisure. That is, when you aren’t caught up in the chaos of San Andreas or in the mobster career of Tommy Vercetti in Vice City.

Racing isn’t the only way to engage with cars in GTA. While there are racing segments in each game, we wouldn’t call that the goal or main focus of the Grand Theft Auto series. As most gamers already know, the fun in Grand Theft Auto is messing around in the open world. To some, that may mean blasting a rocket launcher off a skyscraper toward unsuspecting civilians. To others, it may mean trying to survive a 5-star police chase. The sky’s the limit in these classic titles.

#4 Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered 

• Single-player
• Multiplayer up to 8 players

Originally released in 2010, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit throws players into the world of cops and outlaws. You’ll experience maximum speed, quick-handed takedowns, and speedy getaways as you explore the diversity of California in career mode. The game’s Autolog system is also a great addition, working as a social network and allowing players to see how their friends are progressing. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit also features cross-platform multiplayer, allowing you to play with your Switch or Xbox friends.

The game’s remastered edition includes all the base game DLCs as well as beefed-up textures and lighting.

#3 SnowRunner 

• Single-player
• Multiplayer up to 4 players

While not necessarily a racing game, SnowRunner is more of an open-world-driving sim with RPG elements. You’ll drive a variety of trucks over challenging terrain transporting materials to complete tasks which will help you navigate the map more easily. You’ll deliver materials for drilling contracts, build pipelines, restore railways, rebuild truck factories, and much more. The game features 3 different regions, from the winding mountain paths in Michigan to the rugged peninsula of Northern Russia. Each region brings about its own environment with different challenges.

If you’re looking for a cooperative game, this one is for you! SnowRunner features crossplay between Xbox One, PS4, and Nintendo Switch platforms.

#2 Burnout Paradise: Remastered 

• Single-player 
• Multiplayer up to 8 players

Originally released in 2008, Burnout Paradise Remastered is a racing game defined by destruction. Smash the NO2 to speed up or smash your opponents in this high-energy arcade racer designed to allow you to cruise for hours on end in Paradise City. The game handles very well and has some cool visual effects like the screen shaking or showers of sparks shooting up behind your vehicle as you tear up the city streets. You’ll find yourself not only driving a car but also switching to a motorcycle from time to time.

The game also features multiplayer and a versus mode called Cops and Robbers.

#1 Need for Speed: Heat 

• Single-player
• Online free-roam co-op
• Multiplayer up to 16 players

Originally released for the PS4 and Xbox One, Need for Speed: Heat is an open-world racer which features a day and night mode. During the day, you can partake in sanctioned races, allowing you to earn money to purchase new cars. At night, you can take part in illegal street racing which earns you a reputation to purchase new gear. Both times of day are switchable and are not dynamic. The game also features an app allowing you to customize your cars from your phone.

The game looks like a really fun arcade racer, but perhaps a little dead when it comes to the population of the world. Either way, the racing bit is top-notch.

Bonus Games

Ride 4

• Single-player
• Online free-roam co-op
• Multiplayer

Ride 4 is more than happy to put you behind the wheel of some of the fastest motorcycles that have ever been made before you take on the world.

The game will let you race on dozens of tracks around the world, take on professional leagues, and customize your bike and your character. When you’re done taking on the game’s AI, you can jump online and play with your friends to see who has the best biking skills in the group.

Driveclub

• Single-player
• Online free-roam co-op
• Multiplayer

Driveclub has players stepping into the shoes of a club member alongside other players. You’ll race together through a number of competitions to raise the club’s rank and fight to become the best club of all.

When you want a bit more solo time, you’ll have the option of Tour mode, which will let you participate in all kinds of races around the globe. This includes taking on time trials, drifting competitions, or being a part of some really big tournament matches. Whether you go it alone or play with others, you’ll have one heck of a great time.