MXGP 26: The Official Game review – Still room for improvement

If you’re an MXGP fan, the last half a decade has been grim, game-wise. After the enjoyable MXGP 2021 developed by Milestone, there was a three-year gap until MXGP 24 arrived and, developed by Artefacts Studio, it was a bit of a disaster. Two years later the studio is back, but can it redeem itself with MXGP 26?

As you’d expect, MXGP 26: The Official Game features all 19 of the official tracks in the 2026 season across the MXGP and MX2 categories. It has all of your favourites riders, too, though you can also create your very own rider if you wish and don them out in gear purchased with the credits that you earn. That’s one tick, then.

Another area where MXGP 26 gets a tick is its gameplay. Developed using Unreal Engine 5 for the first time, this is undoubtedly the best-looking MXGP game yet. It’s almost photorealistic at times, and each track is brought to life with the inclusion of large crowds and additional touches such as smoke. More importantly, the physics at the heart of the game are perhaps the best yet, too. There’s the odd time where your bike might behave a little on the unexpected side, but on the whole, it feels as authentic as it can be.

Throw in dynamic track deformation, which results in the track changing and evolving throughout each race, and you have have one of the most realistic depictions of the sport yet. But unfortunately, for many players, things will go downhill from there.

When it comes to modes, MXGP 26 is a little barebones. There’s a Time Attack mode, for example, where you can push yourself to achieve your best lap times. And there are also Grand Prix and Championship modes, allowing you to take part in a single Grand Prix or a full season of events in either MXGP or MX2.

What there isn’t, though, is a Career mode, letting you start in MX2 and make your way up, managing or working with a team as you go. It’s a pretty major omission, which leaves MXGP 26 feeling a little lacking. The options are basic, but online multiplayer makes the cut at least, which will keep some players entertained for some time to come.

Another area where MXGP 26 disappoints is in welcoming newcomers into the fold. There’s a lack of helpful tutorials here, and while there are difficulty options and some assists to fiddle with, features such as rewind are absent. So, if you are a newcomer, you might struggle unless you have patience and perseverance. This is not an easy game, and so you’ll likely crash and fall off your bikes many times until you’ve got the hang of things.

MXGP 26 is a step in the right direction for Artefacts Studio then, but there’s still work to be done. There’s a solid core here, but for the inevitable MXGP 27 or perhaps MXGP 28, it would be great if things could be fleshed out and new features added to make the package feel deeper, more complete and also more accessible.