NASCAR 25, iRacing Studios’ big swing at a standalone console game, was supposed to be the fresh start fans craved. Dropping October 14, 2025, for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, with PC on Steam November 11, it promised all four national series—Cup, Xfinity, Truck, ARCA—with laser-scanned tracks, 190 drivers, and 400 paint schemes.

The career mode’s a deep dive, from ARCA garages to Cup glory with contract calls and off-track drama. But launch day’s been a rough one, with force feedback glitches on steering wheels tanking the experience. The dev team is working overnight on a fix, apologizing to fans and promising to loop in the community for tweaks. It’s a rough start for a game meant to revive NASCAR gaming after years of mediocre titles.

The force feedback woes hit hard. Players with wheels like Logitech or Fanatec report jittery or nonexistent feedback, making the drive feel off-kilter. “We are aware of the force feedback issues with some wheels in NASCAR 25 and have been working through the night to get a fix into the pipeline as quickly as possible,” the team said.

Adding, “We apologize to all our fans, and are working diligently with members of the community across many different…” It’s a humble pie moment, but the glitches aren’t solo. Early access testers flagged officiating bugs, like a final-lap caution triggering a restart instead of ending the race, letting a leader on fumes snatch a win after a slight bump.

Online racing’s another mess, with ghosting letting cars phase through each other, ruining drafts and battles. Players vent on forums that packs slip past without touch, turning fair fights into frustrating fiascos. The game’s barebones feel, despite its hype, has testers docking stars from three to two, questioning if it was rushed.

The dev team’s apology is a start, but with the community’s input promised, it’s clear they’re scrambling to salvage a launch that’s got fans questioning if NASCAR 25 can steer clear of the series’ rocky gaming history.

The backlash isn’t new for NASCAR games. NASCAR 21: Ignition’s 2021 flop, with bugs, missing modes, and a 43 Metacritic score, forced refunds and patches. The EA 2000s run, like NASCAR 07, got slammed for stagnation and glitches. iRacing’s sim credibility raised hopes, but the track list’s omissions, such as ARCA’s Berlin, Elko, Salem, and Toledo, or Cup’s Bowman Gray and Mexico City, had fans grumbling pre-launch. Burnouts missing from victory laps were a gut punch for authenticity.

Now, with force feedback and ghosting piling on, the game’s fighting to prove it’s more than another misfire. X is a storm of salt over NASCAR 25’s launch woes. 

Fans vent frustration

“H-Pattern Shifter Support,” one player griped, quoting a dev line that rang hollow: “I think and I don’t want to simplify it too much but I think sometimes just staying simple is part of it as well. I think I got a really strong team, I think. Paul Wolfe makes the right calls at the right times.”

The game’s paddle-only shifting in online races locks out H-pattern and clutch fans, killing authenticity. Players who crave that manual grind feel sidelined, especially when the game’s marketed as a sim.

“Kinda rough having all these launch issues when you chose to release the game earlier than expected. How were issues like this not picked up during testing? I get the game being barebones being the first game, but the game shouldn’t have been released if it wasn’t finished,” another blasted.

The early drop ignored ghosting and officiating glitches, like a final-lap caution restarting instead of ending the race, letting a low-fuel leader steal it. Testers docked stars, calling it a rushed mess that could’ve waited for polish.

“Cool. Can you make online racing not shit as well while you’re at it? The constant ghosting is ruining races. The number of times a pack behind got a draft off me just for them to turn ghost once in front is bullshit,” a user raged. Ghosting is turning online battles into glitches, with cars phasing through for unfair passes. It’s a core flaw for multiplayer fans, and the apology’s promise of community fixes feels like too little, too late.

“Like I was saying, this game is going to have glitches, but nobody believed me. Now look what everybody’s finding out, glitches in the game, it’s only a three-star rated game if it keeps it up, I’m going to move my stars down to two,” one tester warned.

AI quirks, erratic braking, and pit stop weirdness, like cars stacking unrealistically, are chipping away at the immersion. The barebones feel, despite 190 drivers and laser-scanned tracks, has players questioning if testing missed the mark.

“We are aware of the force feedback issues with some wheels in NASCAR 25 and have been working through the night to get a fix into the pipeline as quickly as possible. We apologize to all our fans, and are working diligently with members of the community across many different…” the devs said, echoing a plea for patience.

But with force feedback, ghosting, and officiating bugs piling up, the community’s skepticism is high. iRacing’s apology is a step, but fans want action to turn this launch from flop to fix.