The second games console launched by Microsoft was released in 2005, and lasted 11 years before production of new hardware ended in 2016. And over that time, it was home to some great virtual motorsport titles, as our list of the best Xbox 360 racing games shows.
Along with the big franchises you might expect, there are some overlooked gems and series which have sadly disappeared in the years since. But you can still pick up a console and games secondhand online, from local retro games shops, or even at boot fairs or charity shops. There are thousands of listings on sites like eBay, but with the Xbox 360 in particular, it’s important to be aware of the risk of consoles encountering the “Red Ring of Death.”
Forza Motorsport 4
The final and best of the three Forza Motorsport titles released for the Xbox 360, Forza Motorsport 4 was the most polished in looks and sound, with better driving physics, and a variety of new features. It started a multi-year partnership with Top Gear, and also included some features from the Kinect motion sensor.
But the best new additions were the AI drivatars, the increase of up to 16 player online racing from eight in the previous titles, and car clubs, which allowed you to compete as a team, sharing cars and tunes. At a time when sim racing teams and eSports was still emerging, this was a great social feature sadly missing from all the Forza Motorsport games which have been released since Forza Motorsport 4 back in 2011.
It was also the last Forza Motorsport game for some time to focus on a tyre and fuel model which could require some race strategy, with Forza Motorsport 5 for the Xbox One being a notable step backwards in that area of realism.
Sadly Forza Motorsport 4 reached end of life status on September 15th, 2015, meaning the game and associated DLC is no longer available digitally.
Buy Forza Motorsport 4 via eBay.
Race Pro
Overlooked by most lists of the best Xbox 360 racing games, Race Pro is a notable sim racing title on consoles for various reasons. It was the first attempt by SimBin Studios, who had developed the GTR and GT Legends games for PC, to produce a console title. And since then the company went on to develop RaceRoom Racing Experience (SimBin later became Sector 3 Studios, and are now KW Studios).
As for Race Pro, it used the ISI (rFactor) game engine under license and the new Lizard game engine to simulate the 2007 WTCC season with real teams and drivers, along with European F3000, Formula BMW, Mini Challenge and the Caterham Cup, plus some selected road cars, racing Radicals and three GT categories.
Race Pro lacks a lot of the polish of the big racing franchises with somewhat grainy textures and not much detail beyond the tracks themselves. And while it includes wet weather, it’s only a cosmetic effect with no impact on handling. But as you might expect from SimBin, the physics and handling is as close to a racing sim as you’d find on any console at the time.
Project Gotham Racing 4
The final game from Bizarre Creations in a series that began life as Metropolis Street Racer for the Dreamcast, PGR 4 was the best yet with advanced weather effects which impacted the driving physics, motorcycles alongside cars, and online modes including Bulldog along with more standard races. Many players of PGR4 will still remember the fun of the Cat and Mouse mode, which saw drivers in faster cars try to get one team-mate in a slow car across the finish line first.
Sadly PGR4 ended the publishing relationship with Microsoft Game Studios as Bizarre Creations were acquired by Activision, and were closed in 2011 following the release of combat racing game Blur. But some of the team and the influence can definitely be seen in the 2012 release of Forza Horizon for the Xbox 360, with the franchise developed by Playground Games eventually overshadowing the Motorsport titles which spawned the name and original street racing focus.
Buy Project Gotham Racing via eBay.
Forza Horizon 2
Released in 2014 towards the end of the Xbox 360 and also available for the newer Xbox One, the development was split between Playground Games for the newer console and Sumo Digital for the older hardware.
As a sequel set in Southern France and Northern Italy, the drivable map is around three times the size of that in the original game. Sadly the 360 version doesn’t include many of the new features available on the Xbox One, including the weather system, free roam open world or tuning.
But while you should choose the Xbox One version of the two if possible, the 360 edition is still one of the best looking racing games on the system and an improvement on the original.
Forza Horizon 2 was delisted on October 1st, 2018. Sadly the online servers were also closed down on August 22nd, 2023, removing access to all of those features, and limiting the game to only offline modes and functionality.
Buy Forza Horizon 2 for the Xbox 360 via eBay.
Blur
The penultimate game to be developed by Bizarre Creations, and the last racing title they released, Blur was an arcade racing game featuring combat via powerups picked up while you’re racing around each track in Mario Kart style, but with real cars, simplifed versions of actual locations including London and Los Angeles, and the advice of Danica Patrick in the career mode.
Blur included four-player split screen and 20-player online or LAN racing, with custom options and Team Racing modes. Sadly plans for a sequel were cancelled due to poor sales and the closure of Bizarre Creations, which was a pity as it’s a great multiplayer racing game which does a fine job of mixing realism with arcade battling via the powerups.