In short: out in 2026 → Screamer (26 March, twin-stick arcade drifting), CarX Drift Racing Online 2 (Early Access, 7 May), JDM: Japanese Drift Master on PS5 (6 February), DRIFTIT on Steam (24 October, also free in the browser). Still coming → DRIFT ISLAND 1.0 (second half of 2026, no date yet).
Out in 2026
Screamer (26 March · PC, PS5, Xbox Series)
Milestone's revival of the 1990s Screamer name is the big arcade racer of the year, and drifting is the heart of it. It uses a twin-stick scheme: the left stick steers as usual, the right stick throws the car into a slide and sets its angle, whatever the throttle is doing. If you played Inertial Drift, it is the same idea.
It is also the one that splits people. Reviewers loved the presentation and the anime-styled campaign; on the twin-stick drifting they disagree, from "disorienting" to "why don't more racers do this". Our take: if you like arcade handling and a controller, try it; if you want drifting that feels like weight moving around a car, the next two are closer.
CarX Drift Racing Online 2 (7 May · Steam Early Access · $24.99)
The sequel to the default "drift game on Steam" arrived in Early Access in May, after slipping from a late-2025 window. It has a career mode, single races and online lobbies for up to 16 players with ranked duels, physics built with the CarX Motorsport team, a damage model, and laser-scanned tracks including the Nürburgring, Fuji Speedway and Ebisu. The launch build has 14 fictional cars modelled on real ones (a Skyline R34-like, an M3 E46-like and so on).
It is expected to stay in Early Access until the end of 2026, with PlayStation and Xbox versions after that. If you are new to the series, the first CarX Drift Racing Online is still the bigger game today; we cover it in the best drift games on PC.
JDM: Japanese Drift Master on PS5 (6 February · $34.99)
Gaming Factory's open-world drift game came out on PC in May 2025 and on Xbox in November 2025; the PlayStation 5 version followed on 6 February 2026 with all the content added since launch. It is set in a fictional Japanese prefecture, tells its story in manga-style panels and builds everything around drift events and tuning. PS5 reviews praise the drifting and the atmosphere and grumble about the technical side, the same split the PC version had.
Still coming in 2026
DRIFTIT on Steam (24 October · Windows, Mac, Linux · $4.99)
Ours, so take it with that in mind. DRIFTIT is a top-down drift game in the spirit of Absolute Drift: one car, a camera straight overhead, a handbrake and 20 short tracks, each three laps against a target time with a ghost of your best run and online leaderboards. Points come from speed and drift angle, and a held drift climbs a multiplier (the scoring guide has the numbers).
It is the only game on this list you can play right now for free: it runs in any desktop browser with no download, on a keyboard or a gamepad. The Steam version, out since 24 October, adds Steam leaderboards with friends, Steam Cloud, gamepad settings and five languages; what the Steam version adds has the details.
Play DRIFTIT free Buy on Steam
DRIFT ISLAND 1.0 (second half of 2026, no date)
ECC Games' open-world drift game has been in Early Access on Steam since August 2025: drift across an island, build and modify cars in a garage. The developer's own plan is to leave Early Access and release version 1.0 in the second half of 2026, and its store page warns that the price will go up noticeably after 1.0. No date has been announced yet, so with two and a half months left, treat 2026 as a target rather than a promise.
"Drift" in the name, not a drift game
- Reality Drift (Arganoid Industries, Steam, 11 November 2026) is a strategic roguelike racer: you pick upgrades and tracks between races. Its store page does not mention drifting at all.
- Drift (Shinobi Man, Steam, June 2026) is a calm, dreamlike exploration game in a procedurally generated world. No cars.
- The many "Drift … 2026" apps on phone stores are mostly older car games with the year added to the title. Look at the update history before you install one.
All of them side by side
| Game | 2026 date | Platforms | Price | Style |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JDM: Japanese Drift Master | 6 Feb (PS5) | PS5; PC and Xbox since 2025 | $34.99 on PS5 | Open world, story |
| Screamer | 26 March | PC, PS5, Xbox Series | Paid | Arcade, twin-stick drift |
| CarX Drift Racing Online 2 | 7 May (Early Access) | PC (Steam); consoles later | $24.99 | Drift culture, sim-leaning |
| DRIFTIT | 24 Oct (Steam) | Windows, macOS, Linux; browser | $4.99; free in browser | Top-down, time attack |
| DRIFT ISLAND 1.0 | Second half (target) | PC (Steam) | Paid, rises after 1.0 | Open world, garage |
Which one to pick
- You want to drift tonight, for free: DRIFTIT in the browser. For more free options see free drift games.
- You want the full tuning-and-tandem hobby: CarX Drift Racing Online 2 if you like Early Access, the first CarX if you want a finished game.
- You want a story and an open world: JDM: Japanese Drift Master.
- You want arcade speed on a controller: Screamer, if twin-stick steering clicks for you.
- You liked Absolute Drift: a top-down game is what you are after; see games like Absolute Drift and top-down drift games.
Whatever you play, the technique carries over: our how to drift guide explains starting, holding and linking a slide, and drifting explained covers the physics behind it.