Forza Motorsport 5 from Turn 10Studios is the latest edition of the highest-rated facing franchise of the past 10 years. Built from the ground up to take advantage of Xbox One and the infinite power of the cloud, no game better delivers the sensation of being behind the wheel.
Our editors independently research, test, and recommend the best products; you can learn more about our review process here. We may receive commissions on purchases made from our chosen links.
Do you want to get behind the wheel of some of the best Xbox One racing games? Take a pit stop here. Some of the most realistic racing video games take full advantage of the power of the Xbox One, allowing developers to carefully craft detailed environments and showcase model replica cars that are designed to look and feel like the real thing. Racing games give a unique experience unlike any other genre, as players blaze down highways, drift tight corners, and go neck and neck with opponents. You'll also find arcade-style racing games that are more about fun and mayhem than perfectly capturing the feel of the road. No matter what type of driver you are, you’ll find an Xbox One racing game parked here for you.
Our Top Picks
Best Overall: Forza Horizon 3
Forza Horizon 3 showcases the best of what the Xbox One has to offer with 4K HDR resolution capability (via the Xbox One X), modernized dynamic open world gameplay, and endless customizations. This Xbox One exclusive shows off over 350 licensed vehicles from Fords to Teslas.
Forza Horizon 3 gives you the chance to jump into multiple activities seamlessly whether you’re cruising in the Australian Outback, discovering unlockable vehicles hidden across rainforests and sandy beaches, or jumping in the middle of a street race. Almost everything is customizable: the visual details and mechanics of your car, the library of music you can stream in your car, and even your own special racing events. You can play with three other players online to tackle the game’s co-operative campaign mode and complete multiple challenges together.
Best Upcoming Release: Forza Horizon 4
The upcoming Forza Horizon 4 is set to push the boundaries of modern gaming with stunning lifelike graphics and an open world environment affected by dynamic seasons. Upon its release, every week will have new content with rewards and challenges, so there’s always something to do as soon as you get behind the wheel.
Forza Horizon 4 improves on its predecessors with a diverse set of changing locations like lakes, valleys, castles, forests, and other spectacular sights that take place all over Britain. Choose from 450 licensed cars from Ferraris to Audis, each with their own set of upgradable perk trees. Instantly jump into activities like off-road rally races or create your own race. If you ever wanted to take on a bomber jet in an Ashton Martin, Forza Horizon 4 will let you do it.
Best for Off Road: DiRT 4
For DiRT 4, it’s all in the name: an exciting Xbox One racing game that best exemplifies the excitement and challenge of off-road racing down to all the gritty details. Players race across various locations, not only competing against other racers but also taking on the challenge of the weather and environments of the courses, making for one of the deepest racing game experiences.
DiRT 4 focuses on rally racing, putting players in five different locations—Australia, Spain, Michigan, Sweden, and Wales—where they’ll race in cars with a variety of competition classes and time periods from Group B cars of the 1980s to the current Group R cars. The game packs in 50 off-road cards from Fords to Audis that will fit any player's preference. DiRT 4 is accessible for anyone at first, but you'll develop your own distinctive racing style as you learn more skills and techniques. The game includes rally route creation tools where you can build your dream racing courses, as well as compete in daily, weekly, and monthly challenges while racing against other players around the world in cross-platform leadership boards.
Best for Formula One: F1 2018
The officially licensed game of Formula One racing, F1 2018 delivers the most accurate and detailed Formula One experience on Xbox One. It includes a full roster of official drivers and teams as well as the complete calendar 21 circuits for the 2018 season.
F1 2018 brings an extensive campaign mode with RPG elements where you create a character and build your own F1 career over ten seasons, doing everything from upgrading your car to making dialogue decisions in interviews. The game’s detailed R&D system has you spending hard earned resource points on your vehicle, giving it more reliable crankshafts, pistons, and other components that must be considered when adjusting to mid-season rule changes. Your strategy in races isn’t just properly timed turns and speeding up, but ERS management within the car that changes front brake biases, fuel mixes, and more that can alter the handling of your vehicle and force you to adapt to real-time variables. If that doesn't make sense to you, there's multiple options, strategies, and modes are available for players to help them get familiarized behind the wheel in order to become the champ. This game is also available on the PS4.
Best for Challenge: Trials Fusion
Trials Fusion offers one of the most challenging (yet rewarding) Xbox One racing games on the list. The arcade-style platform racing game is developed with motor-cross physics and unique levels that give an outrageous racing game experience that’ll test both your nerves and skills.
In Trials Fusion, players control a motorcycle or ATV and must overcome various obstacles like long stairs, cliff ledges, and ramps to get from one end of the track to the other. Players must control how their ride shifts weight to keep momentum, pull off cool tricks and most importantly, land safely. The game’s multiplayer option and leaderboard challenges allow players to race against each other or with other players’ ghosts in a time trial mode.
Best for Futuristic Racing: Redout
Redout is a lightning fast and vibrant futuristic racing game that will leave just about anyone on the edge of their seat. Its style draws inspiration from past popular space racers including Nintendo’s F-Zero games and Sony’s Wipeout series.
Packed with catchy techno tracks, Redout lets you pilot 24 customizable anti-gravity vehicles across 100 events with 25 courses ranging from a post-apocalyptic Earth to a mind-boggling fractal cubic world. You’ll compete with six other vehicles as you twist, turn, and bend around tracks while strategically using boosts with your rechargeable energy meter. Redout is one of the fastest racing games around and you'll need quick hand-eye coordination to beat your friends in either online or offline multiplayer.
Best for Family: Cars 3: Driven to Win
Cars 3: Driven to Win is an easy to play racing game that's perfect for the whole family. With simple controls and adjustable difficulty settings, you don't need much experience with video games to get behind the wheel and start driving.
Cars 3: Driven to Win features all your favorite Cars characters from the hit Disney film, including Lightning McQueen, Jackson Storm, Mater, Cruz Ramirez and more. The game has six different modes, including a sandbox option to get used to the controls to a Stunt Showcase where you can go flying off jumps and perform various tricks in order to score points. The offline multiplayer mode allows for up to four players to partake in split-screen so everyone can get in on the fun as they compete in different races.
Best for Crashing: Burnout Paradise Remastered
If you're experiencing road rage, then get some aggression out with Burnout Paradise Remastered, the game where you're rewarded for crashing.
The game’s lush tropical city environment contrasts with its action paced gameplay of blasting through billboards, slamming into cars, and watching vehicles tumble into big sparkling metal messes in beautiful slow motion.
Burnout Paradise Remastered offers an open world environment with dynamic gameplay that allows you to explore around its city and jump into multiple scenarios. You'll find conventional modes like street racing challenges, but with a Burnout twist of being rewarded for dangerous maneuvering like weaving in and out of incoming traffic. In Showtime Mode you'll try to cause as much destruction and mayhem as possible by crashing your car. Burnout Paradise Remastered is a faithful remaster of the original Burnout Paradise game for the Xbox 360 and includes all the original downloadable content with more cars, cops and robbers mode, bicycles, and a couch co-op multiplayer mode.
Forza Xbox One Games 2018
Best for Arcade Style: TrackMania Turbo
TrackMania Turbo is a fast and fun arcade-style racing game for the Xbox One that delivers crazy, over-the-top action. The pick-up and play stunt racing game has you compete in over 200 courses that last around 30 to 60 seconds each.
TrackMania Turbo is all about careful execution as you get airdropped from a helicopter and hit the ground running. Powerslide through tight turns, turbo boost through tunnels, and fly over halfpipes in this physics-based racer with multiple modes including a single player campaign, four player split screen option, or in an online multiplayer match with up to 100 players. The instant-access racer is easy to learn but hard to master with a high replay value that’ll keep you coming back for more.
Our writers spent 10 hours researching the most popular Xbox One racing games on the market. Before making their final recommendations, they considered 23 different games overall, screened options from 15 different brands and manufacturers and read over 35 user reviews (both positive and negative). All of this research adds up to recommendations you can trust.
Our editors independently research, test, and recommend the best products; you can learn more about our review process here. We may receive commissions on purchases made from our chosen links.
The Rundown
Best Overall:Cuphead at Amazon, 'An action-packed adventure game you'll never forget.'
Best Story:A Way Out at Amazon, 'Great for you and a friend who enjoys movies and likes the feeling of suspense with story-driven gameplay.'
Best Action:Gears of War 4 at Amazon, 'Feels like a blockbuster Hollywood sci-fi movie from the 80s, with beautiful, action-packed sequences.'
Best Sports:Rocket League at Amazon, 'Multiplayer competitive game where up to four players can enjoy split-screen together on the comfort of their couch.'
Best Racing:Forza Motorsport 7 at Amazon, 'The best split-screen racing game, it's full of content and provides a realistic racing experience.'
Best First-Person Shooter:Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare at Amazon, 'First-person shooter where players fight mercenaries with an array of sci-fi weaponry.'
Best Open World:Minecraft: Xbox One Edition at Amazon, 'Explore and mine worlds, build whatever you want and defend against invading forces.'
Best for Kids: LEGO Marvel Superheroes 2 at Amazon, 'Provides a balance of action, intrigue, and fun that’ll entertain both kids and adults alike.'
Best Remaster: Halo: The Master Chief Collection at Amazon, 'Incredibly updated graphics, silky smooth 60FPS and a whole ton of bonus content.'
Our Top Picks
Best Overall: Cuphead
There is no better split-screen co-op game than Cuphead, and there might not be a better game on the Xbox One, full stop. Grab a buddy and get ready to fight, dodge, duck, dip, dive, shoot, jump, and parry your way to victory. The set-up is simple: the Devil is stealing people's souls in dubious contracts, and you have to side-scroll your way through tons of boss fights to save everyone. You play as either Cuphead or Mugman and fire your finger guns against cartoonish enemies in a retro-inspired, 1930s cartoon aesthetic themed shoot-em-up. It features shoe-tapping jazz, tight controls, an all-time art style, difficult challenges, and some unforgettable moments. If you love having someone by your side to go through a fun romp over a long weekend, there really isn't a better option available for the Xbox One.
If you want to play Cuphead on the PC or Nintendo Switch, you can do that too. Check out our list of the best split-screen PC games, which Cuphead also topped as our best overall.
Best Story: A Way Out
A Way Out is like watching a prison movie you’re a part of; you’ll want to take in all of the characters and scenery you run into, but you’re the star and have the plot to unravel, and impatient guards will remind you to keep walking. Whether you’re new or old to video games, A Way Out will wow you with its visual presentation, superb voice acting, compelling storytelling, and unique gameplay.
You have to play with another player — that’s how A Way Out is designed. You and another friend assume the roles of two convicts with opposite personalities who must work together to break out of a fortified prison. Be careful who you talk to, how you talk to them and make sure you workout and interact with the right people — there are consequences to every action you take in this game and you’ll be susceptible to an emotional investment as you decide what you think is the best decision. If you and a friend have some time on your hands, enjoy movies and like the feeling of suspense with story-driven gameplay, then you both will love A Way Out.
You can also view our picks for the best PS4 split-screen games here.
Best Action: Gears of War 4
Gears of War 4 feels like a blockbuster Hollywood sci-fi movie from the 80s, with beautiful, action-packed sequences, vile aliens and a lacking plot you won’t care about because the visuals and gameplay are so entertaining. The third-person, over-the-shoulder shooter is the best Xbox One Split screen game on the list for non-stop excitement.
As you hear the yelling orders of your chief commander, you and your bud will be carried by an accompanying intense orchestra, running past blazing fires, dirt rising mortar explosions while taking in the detailed scenery and aiming down your rifle sights at muscular bro aliens. Even in its slower paces, Gears of War 4 always has something going on that gets the hair on the back of your neck rising and heart pumping because you’re worried about an ambush or what monster might be lurking in the shadows of an old church corridor. The main campaign will last you and your friend about nine hours as you both take cover and strategize in defeating enemies in a fluid and varied gameplay that’s always intense and surprising.
Best Sports: Rocket League
Rocket League is soccer meets driving; a physics-based multiplayer focused competitive game where up to four players can enjoy split-screen together on the comfort of their couch. Rocket League has over 10 billion different combinations, so you can deck out your own vehicle with different frames, tires and other accessories to give it attributes that fit your play style.
Easy to learn but hard to master, Rocket League will grow on you with its fast-paced reckless driving as you and another friend go against either two AI or other human players to control a giant soccer ball and score it in your opponent’s net. Players will get to rocket boost across a giant green playing field as they discipline themselves to exercise controlled restraint in being able to manage the ball as it bounces around and other players zoom to take control of it. For gamers who like a little competition with constant suspense, Rocket League is the sure-fire winner among split-screen Xbox One games on the list.
Want to take a look at some other options? See our guide to the best Xbox One sports games.
Best Racing: Forza Motorsport 7
The graphics in Forza Motorsport 7 will make your jaw drop but remember, this is a racing game, and you and your friend need to focus on the road with one of you passing the finish line first. The best split-screen Xbox One racing game is full of content and provides a realistic racing experience with 4K resolution at 60FPS on Xbox One X consoles.
With over 700 cars (you read that right) and 200 different configurations, as well as over 32 locations, Forza Motorsport is jammed pack with content that’ll keep you and your friends busy playing for hours on end. Players will get to feel the subtle differences in handling and speed as they tune up, upgrade and detail their car for a unique fit to their play style. It's hard not to take in the scenery of the game: there are raindrops hitting the windshield and lightning rods off in the distance.
Forza Xbox One Games Deals
Best First-Person Shooter: Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare — Xbox One Legacy Edition allows for you and a friend to go online in competitive multiplayer matches against other players around the world, as well as fight alongside one another in its popular zombie game mode. The Xbox One Legacy Edition comes with Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare as well, remastered and in full high definition.
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare — Xbox One Legacy Edition is a popular first-person shooter set in the future where players engage with both human and robot mercenaries with a large array of sci-fi weaponry. Ideal for more competitive players, the online split-screen mode gets you and another friend to partake in various game modes, including team deathmatch, domination and search and destroy while allowing customization of your own loadout of weapons, tactical gear, and special abilities. For players who want a more casual experience, Infinite Warfare’s zombie mode faces you off against an increasing wave of undead where scoring points gets you access to more items and weapons.
Best Open World: Minecraft: Xbox One Edition
Lay back, relax and enjoy Minecraft: Xbox One Edition with three other friends. It's the best split-screen game on the list for carefree gaming with endless possibilities. Limited only to the imagination, Minecraft allows players to explore randomly generated worlds where they mine the environment, collect items, build whatever they want and even defend against the invading forces of the night.
Minecraft: Xbox One Edition allows for two main modes to be played: Survival Mode and Creative Mode. Creative Mode is the more relaxed of two, allowing for no danger and just peaceful gameplay where players can build anything with unlimited resources and without interruption. Survival Mode is a little scarier, as you and your friends chase daylight in order to forage for food, mine for materials, and eventually build ladders, planks, holding boxes, weapons, armor and any type of building to protect against the creatures of the night (think giant spiders, skeletons and exploding cactus monsters) who are all looking for trouble.
Best for Kids: LEGO Marvel Superheroes 2
Simple and easy to play, LEGO Marvel Superheroes 2 is an action-adventure video game played from a third-person perspective where players take the role of their favorite Marvel heroes in the Marvel universe. The best split-screen Xbox One game for kids will get them and another friend to explore 17 different Marvel locations as they run around, smash stuff, collect items, build with blocks, solve puzzles, battle enemies and save the world without any pressure or seriousness.
LEGO Marvel Superheroes 2 lets kids play as their favorite superheroes — each with their own unique abilities — like Star-Lord (who can fly), Black Panther (who can use his claws) and Spider-Man (who can swing with his webs and crawl on walls). The game’s plot incorporates cut scenes and includes teams of superheroes like the Guardians of the Galaxy and the Avengers who are all sent on various missions around the world and in space to battle against an alien force with multiple villains guest starring. LEGO Marvel Superheroes 2 is one of the most relaxing and carefree Xbox One games on the list and provides a balance of both action, intrigue and fun that’ll entertain both kids and adults alike.
Still can't decide on what you want? Our round-up of the best Xbox One kids' games can help you find what you're looking for.
Best Remaster: Halo: The Master Chief Collection
Forza 3 Xbox One Gamestop
The defining series that made the Xbox, Halo: The Master Chief Collection is a bundle of the original Halo games remastered, including Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3 and Halo 4 — and yes, every one of them has split-screen. If you and your friends have been with the Xbox since 2001, you’ll fall in love again with this remastering, thanks to incredibly updated graphics, silky smooth 60FPS and a whole ton of bonus content.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection provides players over 60 hours of gameplay across all of its campaigns with over 45 missions plus more than 100 multiplayer maps that allow you to go head-to-head with three other friends. New and old fans alike will enjoy the thrilling sci-fi, action-packed adventure of Master Chief as they explore different planets and take on a legion of aliens while having access to different weapons, vehicles, and ships. A unique aspect of Halo: The Master Chief Collection’s Halo 2 port is that you’ll be able to switch between the original and updated graphics on the fly, showing you how far the game has come along after all these years.
Forza 7 Xbox One Eb Games
What to Look for in a Split-Screen Xbox One Game
Co-op creativity - Split-screen Xbox One games can be either cooperative or competitive. If you want a more laid back experience, or you’re playing with a child, check out creative split-screen titles like Minecraft and the many Lego games that are available for Xbox One.
Forza Edition Xbox One
Genre variety - Split-screen games on Xbox One aren’t just limited to first-person shooters. Check out exciting sports and racing titles, cooperative platformers, and innovative indie games for a taste of variety.
Forza Xbox One Games
Split-screen online multiplayer - Some games that include split-screen put a sharp divide between local and online multiplayer. If you want to take your game online, without giving up your local split-screen, look for games that support this feature. Some even allow guests to play online without their own Xbox Live Gold subscription.