Google Maps Driving Simulator Lets You Race Literally Anywhere

We’ve all been there. You’re driving around your local streets, stuck behind some clueless crossover owner in front of you bimbling around and wondered just, what if, the roads were closed for a brief moment and you were free to drive around to the absolute limits?

Well, we’re delighted to report you can. In a very “sort of” way. This is 3D Driving Simulator, a browser-based game that will let you drive not just around where you live, but quite literally anywhere in the world.

Rather than laser-scanning the entire planet to the nth degree in the way hardcore racing simulators have their ultra-realistic circuits mapped out, this game gives a top-down view of Google Maps thanks to its freely available API. On the plus side, this means you’re not bound by silly things such as water or mountainous terrains, and also, it gives some welcome OG Grand Theft Auto vibes.

Controls are fairly basic, too. You steer with the left and right arrow keys on your keyboard, and up and down controls accelerating and braking/reversing respectively. On tablets or phones, a virtual joystick pops up instead.

Your car selection is, err, limited. By default, you’re in a PCP finance agreement white honest-to-god-lawyers-it’s-not-an Audi A5 which is somewhat crudely modelled, but the front wheels do turn which is a nice touch.

If that doesn’t take your fancy, you can opt for a single-decker bus too. We’re not 100 per cent certain there are any differences in driving the two, and our brief virtual 0-60mph runs would suggest both accelerate just as quickly as each other.

There are no dynamic weather effects or night/day cycles here, either - with all the visual stuff at the mercy of the Google API. You can pick between a satellite image or the usual map layout, at least.

3D Driving Simulator has been kicking around for a fair while now, having been released by Tokyo-based Frame Synthesis in 2014. It got a fairly large update in January 2022, although the lack of any additional changes since December of the same year would suggest this may now be in its final form.