NASCAR fans have been waiting forever for a console game that truly captures the roar of stock cars, the strategy of pit stops, and the nail-biting drama of a late-race battle. When NASCAR 25 was announced, it felt like the answer to those prayers.

Developed by iRacing using Unreal Engine 5, a huge upgrade from the outdated NASCAR Heat tech, the game promised laser-scanned tracks for pinpoint accuracy, authentic rosters across the Cup, Xfinity, Trucks, and ARCA series, and a deep career mode packed with “turning points” that let players make game-changing decisions on and off the track.

It was billed as the rebirth of NASCAR gaming, with features like customizable drivers, vehicles, contracts, and staff management to climb from ARCA garage to Cup champion. On paper, it sounded like the immersive experience fans had been craving since the glory days of titles like NASCAR Racing 2003 Season and NASCAR: Dirt to Daytona. But as the October 14, 2025, release date looms, just a month away, the hype has soured into skepticism.

Nearly two years after the announcement, the community’s still starving for real gameplay footage. What we’ve gotten instead are developer diaries, screenshots of track art and UI menus, and a handful of photos from drivers testing early builds.

The latest “first look” in August 2025, via the fifth Dev Diary, included a combined 14 seconds of in-game clips, mostly pit road and trackside scenes, but no full races or dynamic driving. Windows Central called it the “smallest glimpse” possible, noting choppy frame rates and a shaky camera that left more questions than answers.

Producer Matt Lewis confirmed in a June 2025 Q&A that the official gameplay trailer wouldn’t drop until about a month before launch, a strategy that’s raising eyebrows in an industry where racing games usually flood fans with motion footage months ahead to build trust and excitement.

This drip-feed approach has fans feeling ghosted. iRacing’s been touting laser-scanned tracks (35 of 37 Cup venues, skipping only Bowman Gray Stadium and Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez), over 400 paint schemes, and nearly 190 drivers, but without seeing cars slide through turns or battle door to door, it’s hard to buy the hype.

The Steam page went live in August, listing PC specs and recommending controllers, but no pre-orders or exact date. Consoles get it first on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, with PC following “soon after,” potentially months later, based on past iRacing ports like World of Outlaws: Dirt Racing ‘24. Fans point to NASCAR’s rocky gaming history for context: NASCAR 21: Ignition in 2021 launched with game-breaking bugs, missing features like proper AI pitting and hot lap modes, and required months of patches to even be playable.

The September 2025 gameplay trailer is the last hope to turn the tide, but with the clock ticking and no word on DLC like the missing tracks or cross-series play, many are bracing for disappointment. PC players, in particular, are grumbling about the delayed Steam release, fearing it’ll be a half-baked port like previous iRacing efforts.

The recent screenshot drop for NASCAR 25 has fans on Reddit unleashing a torrent of frustration, with the images doing little to quell doubts about the game’s readiness.

Fans are not happy

One user summed up the letdown, “Seems like the original announcement was a bit of an oversell. I’m not saying a few missing tracks is a deal breaker, but I am questioning what we’re actually going to be getting vs what was first promised. Time will tell.” The official track list revealed omissions like Bowman Gray Stadium, Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez (Mexico City), Portland, and several ARCA Menards Series venues, which had fans hyped after their real-life 2025 schedule additions.

Early promises of laser-scanned authenticity across Cup, Xfinity, Trucks, and ARCA rosters, plus career mode with turning points for strategic decisions, now seem shaky when key tracks are MIA, raising fears of a rushed product or post-launch DLC paywalls.

Another fan vented, “Game was announced on October 5th, 2023, pretty much 2 years ago. We are a month away from release and have not seen any meaty gameplay videos. Not sure what kind of marketing strategy that is, but it’s not overly enthralling.”

The October 5, 2023, reveal kicked off a two-year wait, but with the October 14, 2025, console launch (PC on Steam later), fans have only gotten dev diaries, UI screenshots, and 14 seconds of choppy pit-road clips in August’s fifth diary. Compared to rivals like F1 or Gran Turismo, which drop trailers months early, NASCAR 25’s strategy feels opaque, especially after NASCAR 21: Ignition’s buggy launch in 2021, which needed months of patches for crashes and missing modes.

Skepticism peaked with, “I fear people will buy it upon releasing, like they do every big game, and the company will look at those initial profits as a major success. You’re not going to go crazy if you wait a couple days to buy the game, wait for initial reviews, and potentially save yourself $60-$70.”

Pre-orders and day-one sales often mask issues, as seen with Ignition’s dismal 51 Metacritic score from bugs and cut content. Fans advise holding off for reviews, fearing a repeat where early hype leads to disappointment. With no cross-play at launch and features like the driver market or full silly season absent year one, the $70 price tag feels steep if the game ships incomplete.

One user called it out, “The fact they’re spending all this time showing screenshots instead of actual gameplay is a bit sus to me.” Screenshots of tracks like Bristol and Darlington, menu previews, and wireframes dominate, but in-race motion is scarce, only a shaky 14-second clip from August’s diary.

The Q&A promised a late August trailer, but until then, marketing leans on static art, fueling suspicions of under delivery. iRacing’s focus on laser-scanned tracks (35 of 37 Cup venues) and 190 drivers is great, but without dynamic footage, it’s hard to gauge physics or handling.

Finally, a harsh take, “I’ve said from day 1 it’s going to be a disappointment. Graphics looks like shit, limited game play with the only ‘reviews’ being folks that dropped quotes that were clearly not made by them talking about how great it is. It’ll be another flop like they all have been since the early 2000s EA days.”

Screenshots show dated textures and oversaturated colors in Unreal Engine 5, with fans calling it “cartoonish.” Early “reviews” from influencers like Noah Gragson feel scripted, echoing Ignition’s launch hype that crumbled under bugs. The EA 2000s era, with titles like NASCAR 07 criticized for stagnation and glitches, set a high bar that later games like Heat and Ignition failed to clear, leaving fans wary of another letdown.