The best drifting games depend on where you play. Mars Rally Championship, a free browser rally game, is listed first because it is ours: it is the low-gravity rally-drifting pick, sliding a rover across loose Martian ground against the clock, with no drift score. On merit, Drift Hunters MAX is the best free drift game in a browser, CarX Drift Racing Online the dedicated pick on PC and console, Forza Horizon 6 the open-world pick on Xbox and PC, and Gran Turismo 7 the PlayStation choice.
In-game screenshot: Stage 1, The Eight, at night, the rover sideways on the handbrake into gate 5, an 80° right-hander; the clock, not a drift score, judges it.
You can try Mars Rally Championship in a tab with no download or account.
Quick picks:
- Free in a browser: Drift Hunters MAX, with scored drifting, cars to buy and tune, and keyboard or touch controls.
- Low-gravity rally drifting (browser): Mars Rally Championship, our game: handbrake slides on loose regolith at 0.38 g, timed stages, no drift score.
- PC and cross-platform online: CarX Drift Racing Online, a dedicated drift game on Steam, PlayStation 4, Xbox and Switch, with lobbies of up to 16 and crossplay.
- Xbox and PC, open world: Forza Horizon 6, with drift zones and touge battles across Japan.
- PlayStation: Gran Turismo 7, with Drift Trial today and an Online Drift Trial announced for December 2026.
- Phone download, for comparison: CarX Drift Racing 2 on iOS and Android, free with ads and in-app purchases.
Scored drifting or sliding for time: pick that first
Games sort into two kinds of drifting. In scored drifting, the slide is the point: Drift Hunters MAX, CarX, Drift Trial in Gran Turismo 7 and the drift zones in Forza Horizon 6 judge angle, speed and line. If you want a number that goes up, start there.
In racing and rally games, the slide is a tool. You break the tail loose to rotate the car and carry speed out of the corner, and the clock does the scoring. Mars Rally Championship works this way, as do touge battles. The physics behind both are in how drifting works in racing games, and the racing side has its own list in best drift racing games.
In-game screenshot: the results screen after Stage 2, The Long Run: a finish time and a medal, nothing for the slides on the way.
How we picked: one winner per platform, judged on how the drifting itself plays, what the game scores, multiplayer, price and what you must install or sign up for, from each developer's page, store listing or portal listing. Mars Rally Championship's details come from its own code. We did not hand-test every game on every device; "not confirmed" means we could not check it. Last checked: October 2026.
The best drifting games at a glance
Mars Rally Championship is first because it is ours; the rest are grouped by platform, browser first, then PC, consoles and phones.
| Game | Platforms | Price | Kind of drifting | What it scores | Multiplayer | Controls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mars Rally Championship Play | Browser: desktop, phone, tablet | Free, no account, no ads | Rally slides on loose Martian ground, 0.38 g | Stage time and medals; no drift score | Up to 8 per room, no collisions | Keyboard, standard gamepad, touch |
| Drift Hunters MAX | Browser: desktop and mobile | Free; optional VIP sign-up | Scored drifting with tuning | Drift points paid as cash; Drift Attack | Leaderboards for VIP sign-ups | Keyboard, touch; gamepad not listed |
| CarX Drift Racing Online | PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox, Switch | Paid | Dedicated drift game with tuning | Drift points, tandem events | Up to 16 per lobby, crossplay | Gamepad; wheel not confirmed |
| Assetto Corsa | PC; PlayStation 4 and Xbox One | Paid | Simulator; stock drift track and drift-spec BMW E30 | Not confirmed | 2-16 online (Xbox listing) | Not confirmed |
| Forza Horizon 6 | Xbox Series X and S, PC; PS5 due 26 Jan 2027 | $69.99; in Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass | Open-world arcade drifting | Drift zones, touge battles | Convoys up to 12; shared world up to 72 | Gamepad; wheel not confirmed |
| Gran Turismo 7 | PlayStation 4 and 5 | Paid | Simulation-leaning circuit drifting | Drift Trial; online version due December 2026 | Online Drift Trial not yet live | Gamepad; wheel not confirmed |
| CarX Drift Racing 2 (phone download) | iOS, Android | Free, with ads and in-app purchases | Scored drifting with tuning | XDS tandem and duels | Online rooms | Touch |
Prices move, so check the store before you buy.
Diagram: where each drifting game runs, picks drawn solid: Drift Hunters MAX in a browser, CarX Drift Racing Online on PC and console, Gran Turismo 7 on PlayStation.
The best drifting games, platform by platform
1. Mars Rally Championship: the low-gravity rally-drifting pick
Our game, listed first for that reason. This is Mars Rally Championship's own site; everything below it is grouped by platform.
Mars Rally Championship is a free 3D rally game that runs in the browser: no download, no install, no account and no ads. The handbrake starts a slide, loose regolith bites sideways to hold it, and at Mars gravity of 3.72 m/s² there is far less grip to spend than on Earth. Stage time is what counts. Time spent sideways also feeds two achievements, SIDEWAYS and DRIFT ROYALTY.
It is not a drift game in the scored sense. There is one rover, so no cars to choose between. Nothing judges your angle and there are no drift competitions. There is no tuning garage, only cosmetics. Online rooms hold up to 8 pilots, but cars do not collide. And there are three timed stages, not a catalogue of tracks.
Play free — no download2. Drift Hunters MAX: the best drift game in a browser
drifted.com announced Drift Hunters MAX in April 2022 as a free browser game rebuilt from scratch with the original Drift Hunters creator, Ilya Kaminetsky. It lists 39 cars, with everyone starting in a free Toyota AE86, 13 tracks, brake, gearbox, weight, boost, engine and suspension tuning, and a Drift Attack mode.
A 2024 update added mobile support for the first time, AI traffic, a street mode and cross-platform saving. Keys are W, A, S and D, Space for the handbrake and Shift or Ctrl for gears; no gamepad is listed. A free VIP sign-up has unlocked two cars and leaderboards; its current terms are not confirmed. For the full browser field, see games like Drift Hunters and free online drifting games.
3. CarX Drift Racing Online: the dedicated drift game on PC and console
CarX Drift Racing Online, from CarX Technologies, has been on Steam since 2017, reached PlayStation 4 in February 2020 and Switch in June 2021. Lobbies hold up to 16 players, tandem drifting is built in, and crossplay links Switch, PlayStation, Xbox and PC. On Xbox, online play needs a Game Pass tier. It is a paid download, and we did not find a PS5 or Xbox Series native version, so we list PlayStation 4 and Xbox.
Its sequel, CarX Drift Racing Online 2, has been in Steam Early Access since 7 May 2026 at $24.99, with up to 16 online, tandem drift training and ranked duels on 6 maps. Profiles will be wiped at least once before the full release, expected at the end of 2026. For friends, see multiplayer drift games.
4. Assetto Corsa: the PC simulator drifters still use
Assetto Corsa, from Kunos Simulazioni, reached Steam Early Access in November 2013, a full PC release in December 2014 and PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in August 2016. Drifting is in the stock game: one beginner guide points to the built-in Drift track and the drift-spec BMW E30. Its Xbox listing gives 2-16 online players. It is a 2014 game, and much of the PC drift scene runs on community servers.
Its successor, Assetto Corsa EVO, is still unfinished, and a guide says a drift mode has so far eluded it. For realism and wheel setups, go to best drift simulator games and best drift games for PC.
5. Forza Horizon 6: open-world drifting on Xbox and PC
Playground Games released Forza Horizon 6 on 19 May 2026 for Xbox Series X and S and PC, set in Japan. The Standard Edition costs $69.99, and the game is included with Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass. Touge races emphasise drifting and control, drift zones are scattered across the map, and one review calls the drifting "comfortably arcade" next to Assetto Corsa.
Convoys take up to 12 players, and the shared world is reported at up to 72. A PS5 version will launch on 26 January 2027, with crossplay and progress transfer; PS5 online play will need PlayStation Plus. It costs real money or a subscription. For more arcade handling, see best arcade drifting games.
6. Gran Turismo 7: the PlayStation pick
Gran Turismo 7, from Polyphony Digital, is on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 and has a Drift Trial mode. The Spec IV update, announced in September 2026, will bring an Online Drift Trial in its second part in December 2026, where players will test their drifting against others worldwide. Scoring and matchmaking have not been detailed yet. Today it is PlayStation only and paid, and the online mode is announced, not live.
7. CarX Drift Racing 2 (phone download, for comparison)
CarX Drift Racing 2 is a download, not a browser game: free on the App Store and Google Play with ads and in-app purchases. It offers online rooms for drifting in real time with friends, plus XDS tandem and duel modes. A Premium subscription removes the ads. We list it so phone players have a scored option.
Drifting on Mars: what the low-gravity pick does differently
Gravity is 3.72 m/s², 38 percent of Earth's, and the total grip budget on regolith is about 3.1 m/s² for braking, cornering and throttle combined. Turn-in is capped near 6 degrees a second at 100 km/h, so corners are planned, not flicked. The handbrake is the one thing that locks wheels: it locks the two rear wheels, their sideways grip collapses, the rover pivots, and steering returns to its full 49 degree lock.
Loose ground then does the holding. A tire sliding sideways ploughs a wedge of regolith and gains up to 35 percent sideways grip, starting at about 11 degrees of slip and full by about 34. Polygon ground adds 20 percent and hardpack 6. Past the grip peak at about 10 degrees, sideways force settles on a plateau near 92 percent of peak, so a held slide stays catchable.
There is no wheelspin model and traction control keeps 90 percent of each tire's grip, so the throttle does not kick the tail out; you start the slide with the handbrake. Drift time counts when the slip angle passes about 14 degrees above about 29 km/h, on stage runs only, never in free roam. Sliding is cheap on tires, about 0.08 HP a second fully sideways; impacts do the damage. For technique, see Scandinavian flick rally games.
Which drifting game should you start with?
If you want free and nothing to install, play in a browser: Drift Hunters MAX for scored drifting, Mars Rally Championship if you would rather slide for time on a rally stage. For friends, start with multiplayer drift games. For a wheel and realism, best drift simulator games is the better list, and for a quick pick-up-and-play feel, best arcade drifting games. For a PC, see best drift games for PC; for 3D looks, best 3D drifting games.
Diagram: which drift guide to read next, by where you play, how it should feel and what you are after; each answer points to one guide.
One more name: Drift Boss, a popular one-button game on Poki, credited to MarketJS. It is fine for two minutes, but it is not car control, so it is not ranked here.
Where to try this
Open Mars Rally Championship in any browser. Use free roam to practise slides without a clock, though nothing there counts toward career drift time. The tutorial teaches the handbrake pivot and catching the slide. For the physics, read how drifting works in racing games, and for more free options, free online drifting games.