ACC vs iRacing vs LMU: Which Should You Play in 2026?

Assetto Corsa Competizione

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As stated previously, ACC will no longer receive any substantial updates or content in future. 

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The reason for this is that Kunos has switched focus to the game’s successor, Assetto Corsa EVO, plus a rallying offshoot, Assetto Corsa Rally.

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The merits of this strategy are arguable, especially as ACC is still regularly enjoyed by thousands of players - more than AC EVO, in fact (source: SteamDB). 

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Despite this, ACC is perhaps the most comprehensive depiction of GT3 sports car racing available today. Being the official game of the GT World Challenge, ACC contains most of the cars and tracks used under SRO’s umbrella of global championships.

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In its vanilla form, ACC has 11 tracks, with 14 more available through paid-for DLC packs, including the ever-popular Nürburgring Nordschleife. You can see every circuit and which ones require DLC in our complete Assetto Corsa Competizione track list.

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Likewise, its default car selection is varied but limited, and it can be bolstered to 54 cars via DLC. Our complete ACC car list breaks down all of the available machinery.

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ACC’s DLC can also add GT2, GT4, GTC and TCX cars to the game, offering a fleshed-out GT racing experience, enhanced by realistic Unreal Engine 4 graphics. If you’re unsure which additional content is worth buying, our ACC DLC guide explains what’s included in each pack. 

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Although the game’s visuals are at times stunning, and its photo mode one of the best in sim racing, it can be quite resource-intensive, making ACC a comparatively poor choice for those who race exclusively in VR. On the other hand, the game has speedy loading times, especially in comparison to the sluggish Le Mans Ultimate and iRacing.

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Thankfully, the game’s driving model is highly rated and simulates advanced features like anti-lock braking and traction control. Players can also delve into myriad setup options, change engine maps and perform pit stops, all the while keeping an eye on tyre pressures throughout a stint - this is an absolute must to maximise grip, just like in real GT racing. 

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For a deeper dive into vehicle setup, our Assetto Corsa Competizione setup guide explains how the major setup changes affect the car. 

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The driving model is still great, and ACC is still the only sim in which you have to actually change and manage tyre pressures, like in real racing, whereas the other titles are more restricted in this aspect.

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The game also has dynamic weather and time-of-day settings to ramp up the atmosphere, while its sound design is perhaps the best of the three sims we’re comparing. Put simply, the cars sound raw, and kerb strikes are both visceral and immersive.

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Its single-player offering is weak, however, but ACC is home to a burgeoning community of online racers, and it still looks and feels like a modern title. 

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If you can pick up the Ultimate Edition of the game in a sale, you’ll land an absolute bargain for around $30-40.

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Already playing ACC? Our top five tips for improving in Assetto Corsa Competizione are a useful starting point.

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Le Mans Ultimate

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Motorsport Games’ official game of the World Endurance Championship is a title on the up. 

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Le Mans Ultimate initially launched with few game modes and a lot of bugs, but it is gradually being transformed into one of the most popular hardcore sims on the market.

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The game simulates the hybrid Hypercars of WEC, as well as its support classes: LMP2, LMP3, GTE (up to 2023) and LMGT3. However, many of the cars and tracks in-game are optional DLC purchases, with LMU containing fewer default tracks than even ACC (just seven, in fact).

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Many of the cars are locked behind a paywall, too, with subscription tiers (called RaceControl Pro and RaceControl Pro+) unlocking further features, including special online championships and the ability to set custom liveries for your teams.

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Our Le Mans Ultimate DLC guide explains the additional content and RaceControl subscriptions in more detail. 

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Realistically, you’ll want to spend some money on buying all its tracks and a few cars to make the most of your online LMU experience (the subscriptions are much less vital), and it’s online where you’ll have to go given that the game’s single-player career mode is still in the works.

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However, multiplayer is where LMU is at its best, with the game boasting solid netcode to enhance wheel-to-wheel battling and a growing player base, backed up by MSG’s proprietary RaceControl matchmaking system, which ranks and tracks players’ Safety and Driver Ratings to ensure close and clean competition. Some bugs do remain, however.

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LMU is particularly well suited to endurance racing, including the ability to share a car with teammates in supported events. Our guide explains how to perform a driver swap in Le Mans Ultimate, while our complete LMU pit stop strategy guide covers pit preparation, service and driver changes. 

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For those fearing that LMU’s scope is limited by its WEC licence, hope appears to be on the horizon with the onset of the US Track Pass, which will eventually add six American circuits to the game, with apparent room for more non-WEC content in future.

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Although the game’s visuals are a step off ACC’s, it does look realistic (perhaps apart from nighttime, where the graphics lean towards the cartoonish), and the exhaust notes of the cars are impressive too. 

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Where LMU really excels is in its physics, with the cars feeling lively and rewarding to drive. The LMGT3 category is particularly striking a chord with the community, with many believing LMU to be the de facto GT3 racing successor to ACC.

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More impressive is how the Hypercar hybrid systems have been modelled, offering a learning curve for seasoned sim racers already familiar with juggling ABS and TC settings during a race.

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We also have a dedicated Le Mans Ultimate Hypercar braking guide covering how hybrid systems and brake migration influence stopping performance. 

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The game also features dynamic track rubbering, time-of-day and weather settings, with its creditable VR performance set to improve even further thanks to input from investor and headset manufacturer Pimax.

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Price-wise, it’ll cost over $100 to purchase all of the game’s content (excluding subscriptions), which seems high given the number of cars and tracks available, but this pales in comparison to iRacing...

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iRacing

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Released in 2008, iRacing is a subscription-based simulator that requires additional purchases to make the most of its service.

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Its base content is decently varied, but for players wishing to move up the ranks of its genre-leading online racing ladder and matchmaking system, money has to be spent. Currently, it’s $11.95 for most cars and $14.95 for most tracks, with discounts available based on the amount of content already licensed by players. Even with no content purchases, a one-year iRacing subscription currently costs $77 per year, with prices set to rise soon. 

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Despite this, iRacing has 32 cars and 29 tracks available for ‘free’, which cover multiple racing disciplines: Road (Formula and Sports Car), Oval, Dirt Oval and Dirt Road. This means that it 

offers far more variety than either ACC or LMU, containing over 150 tracks and over 180 cars.

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The sim also carries notable licenses from IMSA, NASCAR, IndyCar, Supercars, and TCR, with the usual array of GT3, GT4, and GTP/LMDh/LMH Hypercars that have become almost ubiquitous in modern sim racing.

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For a snapshot of what’s currently popular, see our guide to iRacing’s most-raced series. 

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iRacing also hosts some of the biggest organised endurance races in sim racing. Our 2026 iRacing Special Events calendar covers the major races, dates, eligibility requirements and how the events work. 

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iRacing’s realism is one of its strong points, and it has perhaps the best wet weather system in all of sim racing, although some of its systems lag behind the likes of LMU in terms of accuracy: take its Hypercar hybrid model as a good example. The sim’s graphics are also showing their age, with iRacing working away in the background to deploy a significant visual spruce-up in future. 

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Likewise, its audio is far from the best in sim racing, although its VR performance is probably the best among our three highlighted sims (although it’s nowhere near as pretty or performative as Automobilista 2). The addition of foveated rendering helps improve in-headset performance, however.

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A single-player career mode is also in the works for iRacing, but the game already lets you race against AI opponents, boosted by the ability to add custom grids featuring liveries from Trading Paints (a free paint scheme-sharing platform). This allows players to race among pixel-perfect grids with their favourite cars (IndyCar and NASCAR championships are particularly well-supported).

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Although iRacing boasts a healthy amount of content and excellent skill-based matchmaking, it’s arguable whether the sim is truly the best in the genre in other respects, with its knife-edge physics coming in for regular criticism. 

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This has been improved upon in recent years, however, with the game’s tyre model consistently updated.

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If you’re already committed to the platform, our guide on how to get faster in iRacing covers practice, setups, replays, Active Reset, telemetry and coaching. For drivers who want to dig into their data, our iRacing telemetry guide explains how telemetry can reveal exactly where lap time is being lost. 

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Which Sim Should You Play in 2026?

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Ultimately, which sim you choose to race in 2026 is down to how much you enjoy driving them, with all three offering something different.

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Although iRacing can be the most costly by some margin, if you enjoy its seamless multiplayer matchmaking experience and vast depths of licensed content, then it represents good value for money.

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For pure GT3 racing, many players may prefer the driving experience of ACC and LMU. For oval and off-road racing, iRacing is the clear winner. 

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VR users are more likely to prefer LMU and iRacing over ACC, while those on a budget may favour Kunos’s game.

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Regardless of which option you choose, each title offers a degree of racing authenticity and, potentially, thousands of hours of driving fun.

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To help improve your driving in either LMU, ACC or iRacing, you can try trophi.ai’s driver coaching tools as part of a free seven-day trial.

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Harnessing the power of AI, trophi.ai is an app that monitors your virtual driving and offers real-time, telemetry-influenced suggestions to help you become a faster, more consistent sim racer.

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trophi.ai’s telemetry analysis is tailored toward drivers rather than engineers, offering an overall view of on-screen steering, brake, and throttle inputs, including a direct comparison with a top-tier racer’s data.

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You can sign up for the free trial today.

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