Most Played Drifting Games On Steam – June 2025
Table of Contents
Given the ever-increasing number of popular drifting games on Steam, we’ve created this monthly list to help you keep up-to-date on trending changes and new game releases you may have missed or forgotten about.
Image credit: CarX Street
What Games Make The Cut?
As this is our first monthly roundup of this type, we’d like to highlight a few key points about why we’ve chosen these specific games, and some additional considerations:
Why These Aren’t All Purely Drift-Focused Games
We appreciate that not all of these are full-blown “drifting games.” However, they’re games that are typically played by fans of drifting, and given that they’re on PC, many of them have drifting mods available.
Take Grand Theft Auto V and BeamNG.drive, for example. Both continue adding drift content (GTA V just dropped the Money Fronts DLC in June, while BeamNG keeps rolling out drift-focused updates). Again, these aren’t typical drifting games, but it’s great to see they’ve both significantly improved their drifting support over time.
We’ve also included some rally-focused games for similar reasons, as they’re games we enjoy that have helped us improve our drifting skills over the years. If you’re looking for games that’ll improve you as an overall sim driver, these are awesome.
Similarly, while Tokyo Xtreme Racer‘s drifting capabilities remain almost non-existent, it has been one of the most popular games among drifting fans here at Drifted, given the close ties to the Japanese/JDM/retro scene.
Wreckfest and its recent sequel, Wreckfest 2, have also incorporated a growing number of drift cars over time. They also both feature drift-friendly physics and limited-slip differential settings for tail-happy action.
Some Games Are More Popular On Other Platforms
A perfect example is Forza Horizon 5, which was designed for consoles. It’s been hugely popular among Xbox players in recent years and has also experienced incredible sales figures after its recent (controversial) PlayStation release.
On the other hand, games like Assetto Corsa offer a far superior experience on PC, thanks to the modding community, which completely transforms the game. Given this, it has far more players on Steam than it does on consoles.
At the same time, games like BeamNG.drive aren’t available on consoles, which also helps boost their Steam popularity.
There are also other alternatives for PC players beyond Steam, such as Epic Games, EA Play, and GOG.
Given that we’re unable to source accurate monthly playing data for other platforms (consoles, Play Store, iOS, etc.), this is the most accurate data we have found that confirms what’s most popular.
Popular Steam Drifting Games – June 2025
With the above points covered (which we recommend reading first), here are the most popular drifting games on Steam in June 2025:
| Game | Average Players | Peak (Concurrent) Players | Avg. Player Change (From May) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Theft Auto V Legacy | 72,261 | 112,862 | +9% |
| Grand Theft Auto V Enhanced | 43,566 | 75,456 | -4% |
| BeamNG.drive | 16,678 | 28,724 | +7% |
| Forza Horizon 5 | 13,732 | 27,393 | -6% |
| Assetto Corsa | 9,858 | 17,324 | +3% |
| Forza Horizon 4 | 4,235 | 8,636 | -1% |
| Need For Speed Heat | 1,912 | 3,875 | -22% |
| CarX Drift Racing Online | 1,547 | 2,371 | +1% |
| The Crew 2 | 931 | 1,905 | -4% |
| Forza Motorsport | 855 | 1,602 | +6% |
| Need For Speed Unbound | 848 | 1,646 | -23% |
| CarX Street | 845 | 2,345 | +76% |
| DiRT Rally 2.0 | 759 | 1,408 | -8% |
| The Crew Motorfest | 599 | 1,304 | -21% |
| JDM: Japanese Drift Master | 476 | 1,686 | -68% |
| EA Sports WRC | 310 | 734 | -26% |
| Wreckfest | 310 | 738 | -12% |
| rFactor 2 | 280 | 646 | -7% |
| Need For Speed Payback | 256 | 502 | -14% |
| Assetto Corsa EVO | 242 | 549 | -48% |
| Tokyo Xtreme Racer | 212 | 371 | -28% |
| Wreckfest 2 | 137 | 444 | -21% |
| Torque Drift | 108 | 203 | -5% |
Sources: Steam Charts and SteamDB.
The Reasons Behind June’s Biggest Shifts
Here are the notable changes, along with the likely reasons behind the biggest shifts in June.
CarX Street Gets The Biggest Gains
The biggest winner this month was CarX Street, which saw a huge 76% jump in average players. This was likely driven by its Xbox Series X|S launch on June 18, which brought cross-platform play for the first time.
Steam players can now race and drift against Xbox players, giving the game a fresh boost and expanding the community.
JDM: Japanese Drift Master Struggles
Image credit: JDM: Japanese Drift Master
On the flip side, JDM: Japanese Drift Master took the biggest hit, dropping 68% to 476 average players. While this sounds dramatic, keep in mind the game only launched in May, so it was bound to see some decline after the initial release hype.
The biggest issue is that the game still feels unfinished. Erratic AI, performance problems, limited gameplay, and a limited car roster are the biggest complaints.
After multiple delays before the eventual release, fans expected something much more polished, but it’s still pretty buggy.
Some of these issues (like the AI) should be easier fixes than others (expanding the licensed car line-up). The Gaming Factory team has rolled out a nine-month roadmap with major updates planned every three months, which honestly makes it feel more like an Early Access title.
Early Access Games Keep Disappointing
Talking of Early Access, the trend of underwhelming launches continues to be a problem.
Assetto Corsa EVO is a perfect example. Despite all the initial buzz, it’s averaging just 242 players compared to the original Assetto Corsa’s nearly 10,000. The lack of content and mod support means the OG version is still the clear winner for drifting fans.
Tokyo Xtreme Racer has been declining each month since its January release, dropping to just 212 average players in June. TXR started strong with 8,733 players at launch, but the lack of fresh content is again to blame for the lack of momentum.
Image credit: Wreckfest 2
Wreckfest 2 is having an even tougher time. Despite being PC-exclusive for now, it managed only 684 average players at launch in March and has continued sliding to an all-time low average of 137 players in June.
GTA V’s Dominance Continues
Despite being nearly 12 years old, the mass appeal of GTA V continues to dominate the charts. The data got a little skewed with the Enhanced version launching in March, splitting the player base between two versions.
The now-titled ‘Legacy’ version had 129,120 average players in January before the Enhanced release. Now that number is spread across both games, the current Legacy version still topped the charts at 72,261 average players.
Even with “Mixed” reviews on Steam for the Enhanced version, both will likely keep topping the charts, especially with GTA VI delayed until May 2026.
The numbers prove just how much staying power this game has, despite fans bring desperate for the new addition.
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Bill is a writer and photographer who has been part of the Drifted team since 2015. His work extends to various print and online publications, including Wangan Warriors.
As part of the King of Nations team, he traveled extensively for several years, capturing top-tier international drift events worldwide. His hands-on experience, including rebuilding his own Nissan Silvia S15 drift car, gives him unique insights into drift car building and global drift culture.
When not behind the lens or keyboard, Bill can be found browsing classifieds for his next JDM project or shredding virtual tires on popular simulators like Assetto Corsa, CarX, and Forza.
You can learn more about Bill’s story here or follow his socials on X (formerly Twitter), Flickr, Facebook, and Instagram.
