Sim Racing looks thrilling — realistic cars, world-famous tracks, competitive esports, and the like. But for beginners, it’s often overwhelming. Despite its appeal, sim racing has one of the steepest learning curves in gaming. That’s why a lot of newcomers quit early, before getting to the good part of sim racing.
There are many reasons for it, and that’s what I’ll be mainly talking about. There isn’t only the difficulty aspect; a lot of people like sim racing because it’s challenging. There are many other issues that a beginner trying to get into sim racing games faces. Let’s talk about why sim racing Is So tough for beginners and why people often quit.
1. The High Entry Barrier
It’s common knowledge that even a decent sim racing setup can be expensive. This alone turns away a lot of aspiring sim racers. Not everyone has money lying around to spend on a sim racing setup.
You can go with budget setups, but we all know how terrible they can be, and they often ruin the experience. To combat this, a lot of players start on a controller and move to sim setups later on. But sim racing on a controller is not that fun. Sure, you might enjoy it the first few weeks, but as soon as you try to get even a little bit competitive, you feel far behind the rest.
Then there is the cost of buying a high-performance PC. You can sim race on console, but the options for gear and games are quite limited. If you want to get into games like iRacing, ACC, or rFactor 2, you need a good PC, and that alone costs a lot. Even if you can afford it, the hassle of setting up everything is another obstacle.
The high entry barrier is one of the biggest reasons why people can’t get into the beautiful world of sim racing.
2. The Steep Learning Curve
Let’s say you spent the money and got yourself a high-end setup, with the best steering wheel and pedals, which on its own is a big commitment. Now, you have to spend weeks or even months learning everything.
Sim racing looks fun and thrilling in videos or streams, but it’s one of the hardest things to learn. Beginners often expect instant fun — you plug in your steering wheel and take to the track, thinking you are going to have a fun lap, but you are in the gravel at turn 2.
The truth is, sim racers are unforgiving. You really have to spend a lot of time learning the basics. Things like racing lines, corners, entry and exits, understanding the balance of the car, and the tracks themselves. In short, it’s a big-time commitment, and not a lot of players are ready for that.
Modern sim racing games have added features like driving assists to help ease players in. But these assists will only take you so far before you have to remove the training wheels and learn everything. Unless you are very passionate about racing and motorsports, chances are you are going to call it quits.
3. The Mental Challenge
Training in sim racing takes a lot of hours, and you often don’t see quick progress. To improve, you have to train consistently, and not a lot of players can do that. Not to mention, sim racing games are punishing. Even after hours of practicing on a track, you can easily crash or spin out in an online race, which can demolish your confidence.
Not to mention, online races tend to add a lot of pressure to new players. Racing with AI is one thing, but as soon as you enter an online lobby, you will feel pressure. The pressure to not mess the race for everybody else, and the pressure to perform when you probably won’t.
4. The Community Divide
The thing is, as much as I enjoy sim racing, I know how ruthless online sim racing is. You will be placing last in a lot of your online races before you see any progress. This can be demotivating, and why a lot of players either stick to casual sim racing with AI and/or friends or quit completely.
The players aren’t forgiving either. Veteran sim racing can be very critical of new players learning the ropes, and they often refer to them as “wreckers”. This can create a toxic environment, which makes a lot of people walk away from sim racing.
Lastly, there is the gap you see. When you start in sim racing, you are not just bad, you are awful. You are seconds behind people in online lobbies, and that gap feels overwhelming to close
5. Why People Quit
Overall, sim racing is generally not easy and which is why people often quit. First, there is the high entry barrier, which means expensive equipment costs. Pair that with the steep learning curve, and every new player feels overwhelmed stepping out on the track.
Training can be gruesome, and the lack of instant gratification can force people to move away from the genre. And, if you do want to get better, there is a big time commitment, which most people just can’t commit to. The toxic community and the tough competition certainly don’t make things easier either.
Tips To Not Get Overwhelmed By Sim Racing
I understand how difficult it is to get into sim racing. I have been there. But there are things you can do to make it not so overwhelming.
Go For A Budget-Friendly Setup
You don’t need a $2000-3000 setup to start out with. Logitech and Thrustmaster have really great budget options for steering wheels that will get you started. You can even find used steering wheels that will save you even more money. I’d even say play on a controller for the first few weeks to see if you even like sim racing games. Watching sim racing and motorsports and playing them are two different things.
Choose An Easy Game To Start With
Don’t immediately jump into hardcore sims like iRacing and ACC. Instead, choose the more beginner-friendly games like Forza Motorsport and Gran Turismo. Heck, I’d even suggest jumping into a simcade like EA WRC or Japanese Drift Master just to get a feeling for the controls.
Avoid Competitive Sim Racing
During your first few months of sim racing, I’d suggest sticking to casual or single-player modes of sim racing games. Learn about the mechanics of racing from there instead of jumping into competitive online lobbies.
Focus On Having Fun
The main reason people get into sim racing is mainly because they want to know what it feels like to go at max speed in their dream cars. I wanted to race F1 cars around the different tracks to see what it felt like. Instead of racing on actual tracks, I can launch a game like Assetto Corsa or Forza Horizon 4, and just enjoy driving around the open world.
Simply put, don’t look at sim racing as something you have to learn as quickly as possible; just focus on having fun.
