iRacing Studios’ Full Game Catalog: How They Got to the IndyCar Game
If you want to understand why INDYCAR Racing The Game has a real shot at being something special, it helps to look at the road iRacing Studios traveled to get here.
This isn’t a company that appeared out of nowhere to grab an IndyCar license. Every game they’ve shipped, and every game they’ve iterated on, has contributed something to what the IndyCar title will be in early 2027. Here’s the full catalog and what each entry meant.
iRacing (2008 to Present): The Foundation
Before iRacing Studios existed as a standalone label, there was iRacing.com, the PC subscription sim that launched in 2008 as the spiritual successor to Papyrus Racing Games.
The main iRacing sim is the foundation of everything. It introduced laser-scanned tracks to the consumer market, setting a new standard for accuracy. Its tire model is one of the most sophisticated in any racing game. And critically for the IndyCar game, iRacing has been running official NTT INDYCAR SERIES content for years: the IndyCar hybrid system, INDY NXT cars, and real tracks like Barber Motorsports Park and St. Petersburg.
When iRacing Studios builds INDYCAR Racing The Game, they’re drawing on decades of IndyCar simulation data. The car behavior, track profiles, and driving characteristics are not being invented from scratch. They already exist in the sim. The console game inherits them.
ExoCross (2024): The Engine Proof of Concept
ExoCross launched in July 2024 and introduced the Orontes Engine, the proprietary game engine that will power INDYCAR Racing The Game. Developed by Orontes Games, a studio within the iRacing Studios umbrella, ExoCross was a sci-fi off-road racer set on a fictional alien planet.
The reviews were mixed overall, with critics praising the physics and visuals while criticizing the lack of content. But as a technical proof of concept, ExoCross accomplished what it needed to. The engine handled console porting, demonstrated strong car physics, and showed that iRacing’s simulation expertise could translate to a visually appealing, playable console experience.
iRacing Studios VP specifically called Orontes’ graphics work “absolutely gorgeous.” That engine now forms the foundation of the IndyCar game, enhanced further by a dedicated development team.
iRacing Arcade: Tuning for Accessibility
iRacing Arcade represents a different design direction: a more accessible, casual-friendly experience built on iRacing’s technology. For a studio historically associated with hardcore simulation, building something approachable for a broad console audience requires its own kind of expertise.
The IndyCar game needs to work for first-time console racers AND for sim enthusiasts who’ve been on iRacing for a decade. iRacing Arcade is evidence that the studio has been thinking about that balance, not just defaulting to maximum simulation difficulty.
World of Outlaws: Dirt Racing: Learning Licensed Partnerships
World of Outlaws: Dirt Racing was iRacing Studios’ first major licensed series game outside of their own ecosystem. Managing a real-world sanctioning body’s assets, drivers, and branding is different from running your own simulation platform.
The lessons from that partnership, building licensed content correctly, managing official driver and team representations, working within the constraints of a real racing series, all carry directly into the IndyCar project.
NASCAR 25 (November 2025): The Career Mode Blueprint
NASCAR 25 is the biggest stepping stone. Released in November 2025, it was the studio’s first major console title with a full multilevel career mode, 150+ licensed drivers, and real media integration through Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s podcast and real NASCAR journalists.
The reception from the NASCAR fan community was strong. The AI was praised. The career mode depth was real. The sim-arcade balance worked for both new and experienced players.
Every structural element confirmed for INDYCAR Racing The Game, career mode, licensed drivers, online multiplayer, ladder progression, exists in a working form in NASCAR 25. The IndyCar game is building on that foundation.
NASCAR 26 (September 2026): The Iteration Commitment
NASCAR 26 followed less than a year after NASCAR 25, demonstrating something important: iRacing Studios is committed to rapid iteration on their licensed titles. They’re not one-and-done. They ship, they improve, they come back.
For IndyCar fans, this is significant. If INDYCAR Racing The Game launches well, there will be an IndyCar Racing The Game 2 (or equivalent). The series has a future, not just a release window.
INDYCAR Racing The Game (Early 2027): The Culmination
By the time INDYCAR Racing The Game ships in the countdown to the 2027 Indianapolis 500, it will carry everything from this catalog: decades of IndyCar simulation data from the main iRacing sim, Orontes Engine graphics and physics proven in ExoCross, accessibility tuning from iRacing Arcade, licensed partnership experience from World of Outlaws, and a complete career mode architecture proven in NASCAR 25.
This is not a first attempt. It’s the destination at the end of a road that’s been building for a long time. And based on everything iRacing Studios has shipped to get here, IndyCar fans have genuine reason to believe they’re about to get the game the series has always deserved.
