It’s that familiar time again, where Milestone rolls out another entry in its long-running two-wheeled sim series MotoGP, which marks their 16th title in the series overall but, more amazingly, their 14th consecutive entry, asking fans to once more throw a leg over the fastest bikes on the planet.And just like every year, the big question looms large: is MotoGP 26 a meaningful step forward, or another incremental tweak dressed up as a full-price release?
Read More: Milestone interview – MotoGP, Roadmaps, Rides and Screamers
If you’ve been following the series over the last few years, you’ll know it’s been walking a tightrope between hardcore sim and a broader, more mainstream level of accessibility.
Proving Grounds
Last year’s entry felt like a culmination of that balancing act, so MotoGP 26 arrives with a fair bit to prove. Thankfully, once you hit the track, it doesn’t take long to realise that the core racing has taken another confident step forward, though not a massive leap.
The handling model feels sharper and give more feedback. There’s a real sense of weight transfer as you tip into corners, and managing throttle on exit is as tense as ever. Push too hard and you’ll be punished instantly, but nail it and the satisfaction is immense.
Read More: Ride 6 review – Milestone Series Entry
Add to this the powerband of your bike, and while you’ll be kissing corner apexes on a Moto3 machine, the big, beefy MotoGP monsters is a whole different can of worms.
It still leans sim-heavy overall, but there are options to soften the brutal edge, making for a more forgiving time and making it less intimidating without stripping away the level of challenge entirely.
Style Choice
Returning riding styles – Pro and Arcade – help reinforce that balance. Pro remains a demanding, technical experience where every input matters, while Arcade smooths things off just enough to see anyone jumping in and having fun.
The gap between them does feel better this year, meaning newcomers won’t feel quite as overwhelmed stepping up after finding their feet.
One of the standout improvements comes from the AI. It’s not just faster or more aggressive – it’s sort of smarter. Opponents adapt more convincingly to your riding style, defending lines, capitalising on mistakes, and occasionally forcing you into uncomfortable positions corners from the flag.
It creates races that feel dynamic right to the end, rather than scripted, and removes much of that artificial ‘rubber-banding’ that has plagued older entries.
Track Career
Career mode remains the backbone of the game, and while it hasn’t been completely overhauled, there are some welcome refinements. Bike development is deeper, with clearer feedback on how upgrades impact performance, and team interactions feel a little more purposeful.
The reputation systems return, adding some off-track flavour, though they still feel a bit surface-level due to their text-heavy presentation. A lack of voice work again continues to hold this side of the game back from feeling like similar modes in other sports titles.
Read More: Screamer review – Milestone’s Amazing 180
On the content front, there isn’t much in the way of new modes, though there is a new card collecting feature where you earn packs of cards featuring grids and tracks, a nice addition as it acts as a rider rating system of sorts and does have a FIFA Ultimate Team vibe.
But it never becomes anything beyond a side quest to collect them and complete your album, though this may be the first step in something that could become a main feature in future titles.
Track Distractions
Beyond the MotoGP side of things, once again a few other disciplines like flat track and minibikes return and again prove to be more than just a distraction. They offer a refreshing change of pace and subtly improve your overall bike control, which feeds back nicely into the main classes. With the new production racing type adding six bikes from Milestone’s other racing title Ride 6 to the mix.
Though oddly they are limited in where you can race them, and some of the handling is questionable, as flat track bikes just feel a bit off, especially compared to the same bikes in Ride.
Look and Feel
Visually, MotoGP 26 is solid rather than spectacular, but that’s always its way. Bikes and riders are impressively detailed, but environments can still feel a little flat outside of the racing line. Weather effects, particularly rain, remain a highlight and add a welcome layer of atmosphere. Audio is much the same story – engine sounds do the heavy lifting, while the soundtrack and commentary are used in what feels like limited ways.
So, the killer question has to be: is MotoGP 26 worth it? If you’re coming from a much older entry, absolutely. If you played last year’s game to death, this is a more difficult decision. The improvements are meaningful but slight and are very much evolutionary rather than revolutionary.
MotoGP 26 doesn’t reinvent the wheel – but it refines it enough to keep the series firmly on track.
- MotoGP26 review – Pole Goal
- Milestone interview – MotoGP, Roadmaps, Rides and Screamers
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