Grand Prix
A single race weekend at one track. The quickest way to race the AI, and the mode the GP-win achievements count.
Best for: Learning tracks, starts and holeshots
MXGP 26 Game Modes: No Career Mode, What You Get
Checked against the launch post:
Championship
A season across the official calendar, MXGP or MX2. Nacon itself calls it "career-lite": standings carry over between rounds, but there is no rider career, team offers or contracts.
Best for: The closest thing to a career
Time Attack
Solo laps against badge times. Gold badges unlock achievements, and doing it on an MX2 bike counts separately.
Best for: Learning lines without traffic
The Compound
A free-roam practice area with jumps and ramps. A launch review notes there is no trick system, so the jumps are for practising air control.
Best for: Practising scrubs, whips and wheelies
Online
Races of up to 10 riders. Public lobbies are ranked with Elo, and private lobbies are for friends or leagues.
Best for: Racing people, community leagues
Why "no career mode" matters
Older entries such as MXGP 2020 and 2021 had a career with your own rider climbing through the classes. MXGP 26 is the first game from Artefacts Studio on a new engine, and the team spent its time on physics and track deformation. Asked about it in the launch developer interview, Artefacts Studio's lead producer said a good career mode takes time, so this year went into the basics and the next iteration will focus on career. Reviewers who wanted the old career are among the harshest on Steam, and a launch-week YouTube video titled "MXGP 26 Has NO CAREER MODE" is one of the most watched about the game.
If you want long-term goals, Championship plus the achievement list is what is there: Full House and the six-title Tony, Is That You? are season-length challenges. Our Championship guide covers how to set one up.
Racing classes and AI
- MXGP (450cc class): up to 20 riders offline.
- MX2 (250cc class): 16 riders, matching the official 2026 grid.
- AI: four levels from Amateur to Expert, tuned per track and able to take several lines through a corner. Launch players say Pro is a fair starting point for anyone with MX game experience.
- Surfaces: hard pack, sand and clay, each in dry and wet.
Online
Online races are capped at 10 riders so the experience stays smooth, in Nacon's words; the lead producer adds that big real-life grids of 40 riders would cost too much performance, and they will try to add riders if they can. There is no crossplay between PC and consoles. Day one was rough: players reported heavy, floaty bikes and input lag online, plus connection errors. The first hotfix targets exactly that, with better client-side physics, joining fixes and crash fixes. See the hotfix log.
Mode questions
Is there a career mode in MXGP 26?
No full career mode. Championship is the career-lite option: pick a class and race the season. A player in the Steam forum summed it up as a championship that resets at the end.
Is career mode coming later?
Not as a patch. In the launch developer interview the lead producer said that for the next iteration they will focus on a good career mode, because a good one takes time and this year went into rebuilding the physics.
Is there crossplay?
No. The developers confirmed there is no crossplay between PC and consoles in MXGP 26, and say they are looking into it for the next game.
How many riders are in a race?
Up to 20 offline in MXGP and 16 in MX2, matching the 16 official MX2 riders. Online races cap at 10.
Is there split-screen?
No split-screen or local multiplayer is listed on Steam or in the launch post.