iRacing has never been known as a cheap way to go sim racing, but they've always, according to us anyway, made up for it by providing the best online multiplayer experience.
New prices
iRacing charges a monthly subscription to access their service, but also charges for content.
If you're unfamiliar with iRacing's pricing model, this means that the subscription you pay every month is just to gain access to the online servers for practice and races, as well as access to the official iRacing forums. You also get a range of tracks and cars that are classified as base content, comprising over 30 cars and over 25 tracks, and these cars/tracks are used mainly in rookie-level series.
However, if you want to drive a car or track that's not part of the included base content, then you'll have to purchase this content separately as a one-off payment. You will then have permanent access to this new content as long as you pay the monthly subscription.
iRacing announced yesterday that the prices for cars and tracks will remain unchanged, but they will be increasing the monthly subscription with effect from 18 August 2016 as follows:
- 1 month: $14.75 (previously $13.00)
- 3 months: $37.50 (previously $33.00)
- 12 months: $124.50 (previously $110.00)
- 24 months: $222.50 (previously $199.00)
This is the second time iRacing has upped prices in its near 20-year history and is therefore not something they do regularly.
Final thoughts
We still maintain that iRacing is good value despite this increase in terms of the massive library of cars and tracks combined with so many active racing series and championships. Adding their amazing physics, full weather effects, and never-ending feature updates makes us believe that iRacing's price increase isn't ideal but justifiable.
iRacing's new graphics engine is also in the pipeline, along with a new single-player mode plus many cars and tracks already in development. We don't think iRacing is for everyone, especially if you're on a tight budget or maybe if you're a casual racer.
However, if you're serious about your sim racing and prefer iRacing above all other sims, then paying the little bit extra should be a non-issue for most users. We suggest that you could also take advantage of the Black Friday special that's coming up later in the year, where current users can get 25% off a one or two-year subscription.
