All Cars Video Games: The Complete Ludography

Summary

• Cars, a long career in video games
• The THQ era: the open-world trilogy (2006-2009)
• The Disney shift: Cars 2 and espionage (2010-2011)
• Cars 3: Driven to Win (2017), the flagship game
• Cars on mobile
• Cars as a guest: crossovers and other titles
• Summary table
• FAQ

Cars, a long career in video games

Since 2006, the world of Cars hasn't just lived on the big screen: it has been adapted into nearly twenty video games — open-world racing, item-based kart racing, mobile games, and appearances in Disney·Pixar crossovers. Here is the complete history of the video gameography of Lightning McQueen and his friends, era by era.

The THQ era: the open-world trilogy (2006-2009)

The first Cars games were published by THQ. Cars: The Video Game (2006), developed by Rainbow Studios, accompanied the release of the first film: an open-world racing game where players drive Lightning McQueen around Radiator Springs to win the Piston Cup. The reception was decent (around 70-73/100 on Metacritic depending on the version).

Next came Cars: Mater-National Championship (2007), also by Rainbow Studios, which expanded the open world around a tournament organized by Mater, followed by Cars: Race-O-Rama (2009), entrusted to Incinerator Studios — the last installment of the THQ trilogy. In parallel, portable versions (Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, PSP) were developed by other studios such as Helixe or Tantalus.

🥿 In Cars: The Video Game, Lightning McQueen roams the open roads of Radiator Springs while your own feet never leave the couch: you may as well keep them warm in our Cars slippers.

The Disney shift: Cars 2 and espionage (2010-2011)

The license then came under the control of Disney Interactive Studios. Two titles were released in 2010: Cars Toon: Mater's Tall Tales (Papaya studio), a collection of mini-games inspired by Mater's shorts, and The World of Cars Online, an online racing game (MMO) playable via browser, active from 2010 to 2012.

The big title of the period was Cars 2: The Video Game (2011), developed by Avalanche Software. Adapted from the second film, it swapped pure racing for an item-based kart racer: the characters train as spies within the C.H.R.O.M.E. agency, in line with the espionage plot led by Mater. The reception was generally positive (around 72-76/100 depending on the platform).

🎧 In Cars 2: The Video Game, the racers train as spies for the C.H.R.O.M.E. agency; your own agent earpiece is better off tucked into our Cars cases and covers for AirPods.

Cars 3: Driven to Win (2017), the flagship game

The most recent and comprehensive Cars game is Cars 3: Driven to Win. Developed by Avalanche Software and published by Warner Bros., it accompanied the third film in 2017.

It's a fast-paced arcade racing game, rich in modes: classic races, item-based combat races, time trials, stunt challenges, and stock car events. Players can drive Lightning McQueen as well as Cruz Ramirez, Jackson Storm, or the vehicles from the Thunder Hollow derby. Critics were more mixed (around 60-67/100), mainly criticizing the absence of an online mode.

Cars 3 game in store

Cars 3 Video Game - Driven to Win - Nintendo Switch

Cars 3: Driven to Win on Nintendo Switch — the latest great Cars racing game, ready to roll.

€31.90 View game

🎮 Good news: it's also the most accessible Cars game on current consoles. It can be found in stores on Nintendo Switch (above), as well as on PS4 and Xbox One.

Cars on mobile

On smartphones and tablets, two games have succeeded each other. Cars: Fast as Lightning (2014, Gameloft) mixed city building and racing, as a free-to-play title. It was removed at the end of 2016 in favor of Cars: Lightning League (2017), a racing game developed by PlaySide Studios and based on Cars 3. Both have since been removed from app stores.

🚿 The car wash you added to your town's scenery in Cars: Fast as Lightning only rinsed race cars; when you step out of the shower, our Cars bath and beach towels take over.

Cars as a guest: crossovers and other titles

Cars characters also appear outside of their dedicated games. Kinect Rush: A Disney·Pixar Adventure (2012, Asobo Studio) featured a Cars world among five Pixar universes; it was re-released in 2017 as Rush: A Disney·Pixar Adventure. Disney Infinity launched a Cars Play Set in 2013, with Lightning McQueen, Mater, Holley Shiftwell, and Francesco Bernoulli as playable figures. More recently, the kart racer Disney Speedstorm (Gameloft) also welcomed Cars drivers. In addition to these games, several educational titles for young children (VTech, LeapFrog consoles, etc.) have also carried the license.

Summary table

Also read: which Cars books to choose according to age, organize a Cars-themed birthday party.

FAQ — Frequently Asked Questions

• How many Cars video games are there?
  Nearly twenty since 2006, counting portable and mobile versions, not to mention Cars' appearances in Disney·Pixar games like Kinect Rush or Disney Infinity.
• What was the first Cars video game?
  Cars: The Video Game, released in 2006 with the first film, developed by Rainbow Studios and published by THQ.
• What is the most recent Cars game on console?
  Cars 3: Driven to Win, released in 2017 and developed by Avalanche Software.
• On which consoles can you play Cars today?
  Cars 3: Driven to Win remains the most accessible: it is available on Nintendo Switch, PS4, and Xbox One.
• Are there any Cars games on mobile?
  Yes: Cars: Fast as Lightning (2014) and Cars: Lightning League (2017), but both have since been removed from app stores.
• Which Cars game received the best reception?
  The highest-rated are the first Cars (2006) and Cars 2 (2011), around 72-76/100; Cars 3: Driven to Win received a more mixed reception.