Simracing player numbers in 2023
The 2023 sim racing year has been over for a few days now. Reason enough to take another look at the player numbers of the biggest titles over the course of the year. Classics such as Assetto Corsa continue to record high player numbers, while Automobilista 2 in particular took off at the end of the year.
Steam games
The best comparability between the individual titles is currently only available on Steam. Only here is the data 100% comparable and completely available through sites such as SteamDB and Steam Charts.
- Assetto Corsa (Price: 19.99€ / Lowest price: 3,99€)
- Assetto Corsa Comepetizione (Price: 39.99€ / Lowest price: 11,99€)
- rFactor 2 (Price: 28.99€ / Lowest price: 5,99€)
- RaceRoom Racing Experience (Price: – / Lowest price: -)
- Automobilista 2 (Price: €36.99 / Lowest price: €11.09)
- Project Cars 2 (Price: – / Lowest price: €8.99)
Assetto Corsa continues to be a particularly positive surprise. Even though the simulation is starting to show its age, it is kept alive by mods and, above all, the Content Manager. Most recently, AC was even included in the Low Fuel Motorsport programme, which, in combination with the very low price, could ensure a further increase in player numbers in the long term.
Project Cars 2 is no longer available on Steam, which is likely to push player numbers down further. RaceRoom and rFactor 2, meanwhile, have remained relatively stable with the exception of minor outliers.
Automobilista 2 is slowly but surely developing into a serious competitor for the big sim racing titles. Regular updates and new content have caused the figures to rise sharply once again towards the end of the year.
A look beyond the horizon
In addition to the pure sim racing titles, there are a number of other car-related genres. Truck simulators, farming simulators and BeamNG are particularly successful, with some of them attracting significantly more players than sim racing titles.
- Euro Truck Simulator 2 (Price: 19.99€ / Lowest price: 2,99€)
- Farming Simulator 2 (Price: 19.99€ / Lowest price: 17,99€)
- BeamNG (Price: 20.99€ / Lowest price: 15.40€)
- American Truck Simulator (Price: 19.99€ / Lowest price: 2,49€)
Games outside of Steam
Things get more complicated with simulations outside of Steam. Although F1 23, EA WRC, iRacing and the like are now also playable via Steam for the most part, official player numbers across all platforms are not published.
Outlook
This year, we can once again expect a wide range of new games. In addition to the annual titles such as F1 24, we can look forward to new simulations such as Assetto Corsa 2, Rennsport, Le Mans Ultimate and GTRevival. It remains to be seen how this number of potential new releases will affect the player numbers of the currently most popular titles.
