Opinion: The sim racing wheel gatekeeper

This opinion piece was originally part of a prior Traxion email newsletter – sign up to receive these early, direct to your inbox, every week. It was also sent before Revosim confirmed PS5 compatibility…

According to Business Research Insights, the racing simulation equipment market was valued at roughly $1.5 billion in 2024. There’s even a somewhat lofty expectation that it could rise to $2.8 billion by 2033.

Certainly, if the influx of new contenders is anything to go by, that somewhat questionable prediction could be prophetic.

In recent weeks, PXN has doubled its wheel range. Headset doyen Turtle Beach has also dramatically expanded its sim racing offering. We are eagerly anticipating Asetek SimSport’s Initium entry-level line.

It’s a new day, so Moza Racing probably has a new product up its sleeve too…

However, the incumbents are fighting back – Thrustmaster has confirmed two new range additions before the end of the year. Corsair’s new CEO Thi La announced that there will be an influx of new Fanatec products “towards” Q4 of this year. Not forgetting the leaked Logitech prototype.

There are numerous announcements expected from well-known brands in the coming weeks and months, too, teeing up an extraordinarily busy end to 2025. Not since the post-pandemic boom has there been more hardware set to be released.

Which is great for consumers – competition breeds better products, more choice and price wars.

Yet, I can’t shake this nagging feeling that through this rush of innovation and development, someone will fall by the wayside. Predicted growth is one thing, but for there to be enough demand to reach those targets, the market needs more fresh racing games and sim racing platforms.

With the PC market for sim racing titles potentially reaching saturation, game developers are flocking to consoles. Project Motor Racing, Rennsport and iRacing’s NASCAR 25 land this year, Le Mans Ultimate next and Assetto Corsa EVO at some point, hopefully.

Sony selling over 80 million PlayStation 5s helps, plus the gaping holes in the market outside of EA SPORTS F1 and Gran Turismo 7. And to get the best out of this device and these upcoming driving titles, you’ll want a wheel.

The trouble is becoming a certified equipment manufacturer by Sony. Without this approval, your devices will not work on PS5. As it stands, only Fanatec, Logitech and Thrustmaster can sell direct drive wheels for the console.

Xbox seems more straightforward by comparison. The aforementioned Turtle Beach, Moza and Asetek are all approved. But PlayStation remains elusive.

Then there is the fresh sim racing hardware brand Revosim. Even a company that is part of Nacon, which already makes branded and licenced PlayStation gamepads and headsets, is PC only (for now) with its first wheels.

There are a number of factors behind this, none of them public, but it seems the legacy brands have a stranglehold on a lucrative market. There will always be space for premium, high-end, PC-only wheelbases, where the likes of Simucube reign supreme.

But, for many challenger brands, it could be only those who convince Sony that it is worthy who stick around with any longevity.

This opinion piece was originally part of a prior Traxion email newsletter – sign up to receive these early, direct to your inbox, every week. It was also sent before Revosim confirmed PS5 compatibility…