Is MotoGP 25 a good esports title?

The world of esports motorcycle racing revolves around the yearly release of MotoGP’s official game. This year’s title is MotoGP 25 and it was made by the Italian software house Milestone. This year’s focus was on improving the driving experience for newcomers and aspiring pro players with the introduction of the dual mode system.

With Arcade mode, the game feels easier, more forgiving and manageable while maintaining the customisability of the franchise. In Pro mode, players are able to refine their experience to the most minute level. This year’s MotoGP eSport Championship is also approaching, so there’s no better time to dive deep into the game, its esports scene and its teams.

MotoGP 25 is the MotoGP official video game: there’s a new one every year, which comes with advancements, improved physics and a new esports calendar. This year’s most relevant additions were the new Arcade and Pro modes to customise every player’s experience with the title. Also, new activities outside the track have been made available, like races with minibikes, flat tracks, and supermoto, a training system often used by pros when they cannot test or practice on their official bike.

On the technical side, MotoGP 25 is now fully made in Unreal Engine 5, so the graphic fidelity is much better, and Milestone managed to address the series’ longest-running issues: the difficulty of the adversaries. Both MotoGP 23 and 24 had a problem where players would eventually arrive at a point in the offline modes, where the AI enemies could keep up with them, resulting, especially at lower difficulties, in race wins with a 5 to 6-second gap between first and second place. AI difficulty, in MotoGP 25, is much more responsive and adaptive, and the problem is largely solved.

MotoGP 25’s gameplay is among the best the series has ever offered both in terms of usability for new players and in terms of customisations for the veterans. The bike, although with some quirks to the braking system, feels more grounded and manageable to high-skilled players who note how it behaves a lot better at lower speeds, especially in tight corners. This year’s game audio has also been completely overhauled thanks to new recordings made during race weekends with high-end microphones attached to the bikes’ exhaust.

Launched in 2017, the MotoGP eSport Championship has had, in the past eight years, 37 Online Challenges, 11 onsite events and 16 virtual events with 50% of its audience between the ages of 13 and 24. The 2025 championship will start on July 2 with four online open challenges that will determine a draft of 30 names, with 15 coming from Europe and 15 from the Rest of the World.

From that draft, each real-world MotoGP team can select a gamer for the Global Series, a three-round shootout where 11 finalists from 11 teams will battle to become the 2025 MotoGP eSport Champion. For the first time in the circuit’s history, the first Online Challenge circuit will be decided by votes on the MotoGP eSport social media channels. The options available to fans are the Circuit of the Americas, the Chang International Circuit and Pertamina Mandalika Circuit or Phillip Island.

The first two Global Series rounds will be online events, the third round will be held live and in person at Milan Games Week in November. Last year’s Global Series saw an unexpected rise to glory from the Englishman Jack Hammer4658. He arrived at the final 24 points behind the Italian danielealoè26 but managed to win all three races flawlessly to retain the world championship crown he won in 2023.

Not only is the circuit open, but participation, even if players know they don’t have a chance at the top spot, is encouraged. Every MotoGP 25 player that posts even a single lap in each Online Challenge will be entered into a draw to win tickets for certain MotoGP races through the 2025 season.

As the esports circuit works with a draft system, the team rosters are not yet set at the time of writing. Every team racing in the real-world MotoGP will partake in the eSport Championship. Here’s the complete list:

As with any esports circuit that relies on a yearly released game (EAFC, F1, Madden, etc.), those who want to compete must buy the latest edition and start grinding from day one, so they don’t fall behind. However, this year’s MotoGP title is in top shape compared to the previous two editions. Physics are well tuned, adversaries are balanced, sound is great, and graphics are the best they have ever been, thanks to the Unreal Engine 5 upgrade. MotoGP’s esports circuit is also one of the most open in the world, and simply participating in it may win you tickets to real-world races. So, if you have a passion for MotoGP and esports, we recommend giving this game a go as it’s also a good esports title.