Every Car Mechanic Simulator game, ranked
All 3 Car Mechanic Simulator games we hold, spanning 2015 to 2021: 3 ranked by the GamingPickz Score and plotted below, the rest listed in release order so nothing in the series is missing. Together they carry 109,687 Steam reviews.
Where to start
- For the best-reviewed: Car Mechanic Simulator 2021 (GamingPickz Score 8.2), the highest-rated entry we can score.
- For canon order: begin with Car Mechanic Simulator 2015 (2015) and follow the release-order timeline below.
- For the money: Car Mechanic Simulator 2018 gives the most score per dollar right now.
The Car Mechanic Simulator games on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueThe same 3 games, plotted rather than listed. The two axes below are the ones the ranking is built from, so a game sitting high and right is a game the formula placed near the top. Change either axis to see the field a different way. Where we hold a publisher wordmark, the game is drawn as its mark rather than a dot.
3 games have both
Axes are fitted to these 3 games rather than the full 0 to 100 scale, because a filtered list shares a narrow band and would otherwise sit in one corner. End values are marked. A point on the left edge is the lowest of thesegames, not a low score.
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
3 best Car Mechanic Simulator games, ranked
Ordered by GamingPickz Score. Every figure links back to the source that produced it.
- 1
Car Mechanic Simulator 2021
Best for: Sinking a long time into one world
8.2GamingPickz Scoremedium confidenceCar Mechanic Simulator 2021 at a glance Released 2021 Studio Red Dot Games Player sentiment 96% positive of 38,510 Critics No aggregate Price $24.99 Steam Deck verified Install size 35 GB Accessibility 1 declared feature Raw 96% shrinks to 95.9 on 38,510 reviews, giving 8.2. No critics data, so that weight was redistributed across the rest rather than counted as zero.
What the data supports- Valve has tested it and rates it Verified on the Steam Deck.
- 2
Car Mechanic Simulator 2018
Best for: Sinking a long time into one world
8.0GamingPickz Scoremedium confidenceCar Mechanic Simulator 2018 at a glance Released 2017 Studio Red Dot Games Player sentiment 91% positive of 56,552 Critics No aggregate Price $19.99 Steam Deck playable Install size 20 GB Accessibility 1 declared feature Raw 91% shrinks to 90.9 on 56,552 reviews, giving 8.0. No critics data, so that weight was redistributed across the rest rather than counted as zero.
- 3
Car Mechanic Simulator 2015
Best for: Players who trust other players over critics
7.5GamingPickz Scorehigh confidenceCar Mechanic Simulator 2015 at a glance Released 2015 Studio Red Dot Games Player sentiment 92% positive of 14,625 Critics 68/100 Price $19.99 Steam Deck playable Install size 8 GB Accessibility 0 declared features Raw 92% shrinks to 91.8 on 14,625 reviews, then blends with the 68 critic aggregate, giving 7.5.
What the data supports- Small install at 8 GB.
Worth checking first- Players rate it well above critics, 92 against 68. Usually a sign it improved after launch, or that it delivers something reviewers undervalued.
Best and worst entry
The best-received Car Mechanic Simulator game we can score is Car Mechanic Simulator 2021 at 8.2. The lowest is Car Mechanic Simulator 2015 at 7.5, a 0.7-point spread across the series. The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
How the series scored over time
GamingPickz Score against release year, 2015 to 2021. The later entries score higher than the earlier ones: the series has been trending up.
Cheapest way in, and best value
- Cheapest right now: Car Mechanic Simulator 2015 at $19.99. Prices are read live from Steam and move.
- Best value: Car Mechanic Simulator 2018, the most GamingPickz Score per dollar in the series at its current price.
On a Steam Deck
Valve's own Deck compatibility rating for the Car Mechanic Simulator entries on Steam:
- Verified: Car Mechanic Simulator 2021
- Playable: Car Mechanic Simulator 2015, Car Mechanic Simulator 2018
Platforms across the series
Where the 3 Car Mechanic Simulator games have landed, counting every entry we hold:
| Platform family | Entries |
|---|---|
| PC | 3 of 3 |
The Car Mechanic Simulator series, game by game
Every Car Mechanic Simulator game we hold, in release order. Each description is the game's own, from Steam where it has a listing and Wikipedia for the older entries, never ours.
- 2015
New cars, new tools, new options, more parts and much more fun in the next version of Car Mechanic Simulator! Take your wrench! Create and expand your auto repairs service empire. Car Mechanic Simulator 2015 will take you behind the scenes of daily routine in car workshop. (Steam)
Reception
Reception Car Mechanic Simulator received average reviews from critics, with a 68/100 positive rating according to Metacritic . PC World rated the game 3. 5 stars out of 5, praising the detail but criticizing the lack of variety as a "grind". (Wikipedia)
- 2017
Build and expand your repair service empire in this incredibly detailed and highly realistic simulation game, where attention to car detail is astonishing. Find classic, unique cars in the new Barn Find module and Junkyard module. You can even add your self-made car in the Car Editor. (Steam)
Reception
Reception The Switch version of Car Mechanic Simulator received "generally unfavorable reviews" and the Xbox One received "generally favorable reviews" on Metacritic . Rock Paper Shotgun called the game "singularly captivating and cathartic" while criticising a large number of bugs present in the initial release, as well as a number of the design decisions. A follow-up review after patching was complete indicated that the technical issues had been… (Wikipedia)
- 2021
Work your way to a service empire. Get your hands dirty in a highly realistic simulation game that pays major attention to details. Pay a visit to a new Auction house and buy cars in various conditions. Expand your range of services by investing in a new work space and equipment. (Steam)
Reception
Reception The Switch version of Car Mechanic Simulator received "generally unfavorable reviews" and the Xbox One received "generally favorable reviews" on Metacritic . Rock Paper Shotgun called the game "singularly captivating and cathartic" while criticising a large number of bugs present in the initial release, as well as a number of the design decisions. A follow-up review after patching was complete indicated that the technical issues had been… (Wikipedia)
Car Mechanic Simulator, head to head
Two entries side by side on score, price, specs and reception:
Car Mechanic Simulator vs other series
How Car Mechanic Simulator stacks up against other series in the same genre, as a whole:
Also: Car Mechanic Simulator vs Saints Row, Car Mechanic Simulator vs Mafia, Car Mechanic Simulator vs Red Faction, Car Mechanic Simulator vs Burnout Paradise, Car Mechanic Simulator vs Euro Truck Simulator, Car Mechanic Simulator vs Forza Horizon, Car Mechanic Simulator vs Jurassic World Evolution, Car Mechanic Simulator vs Metal Gear, Car Mechanic Simulator vs Project CARS, Car Mechanic Simulator vs RAGE, Car Mechanic Simulator vs Subnautica, Car Mechanic Simulator vs Transport Fever, Car Mechanic Simulator vs Universe Sandbox
Common questions
How many Car Mechanic Simulator games are there?
We hold 3 Car Mechanic Simulator games in the catalogue, released between 2015 and 2021. 3 of them carry enough Steam data to rank; the rest are listed in release order below, including console-only entries with no Steam listing.
Which Car Mechanic Simulator game is best?
By the GamingPickz Score, Car Mechanic Simulator 2021 rates highest at 8.2. That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, computed the same way for every game, not our opinion. The full ranking is above.
What order should I play the Car Mechanic Simulator games in?
Release order is listed below, from 2015 to 2021. For most series that is also story order, but we list dates rather than telling you a canon; the timeline is read from Wikidata.
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