At Gamescom 2025, I drifted by gaming hardware manufacturer Turtle Beach’s booth and got to try out the upcoming Turtle Beach Racer wheel. Designed primarily for Xbox Series X, Series S, and PC, it’s a racing wheel on the lower end of the mid-range price spectrum, but one that boasts some pretty impressive features.
Wireless racing wheels aren’t something you see hit the market very often, but the Turtle Beach Racer has this as an option. More serious sim racer players may wince at the idea, but it’s abundantly clear that this is not the target audience for the Turtle Beach Racer. Instead, it leans in a more casual-friendly direction, better suited to sim-lite or arcade-like racing games like Dirt 5, Forza Horizon 5, Tokyo Xtreme Racer, and Fortnite’s Rocket Racing mode.
It’s a wheel that has an almost refreshingly laid-back feel to it, which is something I was appreciative of as someone who doesn’t have much room at home for a more fulsome wheel setup. And at launch, I can easily see it being one of the best Xbox racing wheels if its wireless connectivity holds up to scrutiny.
Ridge Racer
The first thing that stood out to me about the Turtle Beach Racer is its impressive build quality. While primarily plastic, and certainly not premium-feeling by any means, it’s a sight better than what we see typically in its price bracket of $179.99 / £139.99.
The steering wheel itself is great, with a soft texture that feels light and grippy in the hands. I also like the inclusion of extra remappable buttons on the wheel’s dashboard, lending some customizability for actions like gear shifting and the like.
But wait, gear shifting? Isn’t that what those rear paddles are for? Actually, no. In something that will undoubtedly turn sim racers away - but might broaden the Racer’s casual appeal - this racing wheel doesn’t ship with a set of pedals. Instead, throttle and braking are assigned by default to those two rear paddles. This is likely a move to keep the Racer’s price relatively stable, and hey, it’s one less chunk of plastic that might end up in landfill years from now.
It’s an impressively compact wheel, then, and that’s also supported by the lap rest the Racer comes with. This is an adjustable rest that helps you sit the unit on your lap if you don’t have a dedicated desk or table space. Again, I do find this quite appealing as someone who often struggles with even basic plug-and-play wheel setups without significantly shifting my existing setup around. It’s something I think all budget to mid-range wheels should consider including moving forward.
Look ma, no wires!
I was also impressed by the responsiveness of its wireless connectivity. I played a demo of Dirt 5 with the Racer, and I didn’t notice any egregious bouts of input latency. Both 2.4Ghz and Bluetooth connections are supported, though I would certainly recommend the former for a more stable connection overall - even for the most arcade-like racers out there.
Turtle Beach claims the Racer can last up to 30 hours on a single charge, which would be pretty excellent and outclasses many of the best Xbox controllers in terms of battery life. Naturally, this is something we’d need to test for a full review, but if true, it means the Racer’s portability will be that much more impressive.
The Turtle Beach Racer is due to launch on September 9, 2025, and will be compatible with Xbox consoles (including Series X|S and Xbox One), PC, and Android mobile devices. There’s no word on a PlayStation model just yet, but if this first product is successful enough, I could see Turtle Beach producing a follow-up or revision for Sony’s console.
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