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Sim Expo USA 2026 in Charlotte has officially wrapped up, and for anyone who could not make it, here is the full written tour. This was the inaugural Charlotte show, and honestly, it was a very good one. There was a little bit of everything. Big manufacturers, smaller boutique brands, motion rigs, prototype hardware, arcade-style experiences, real race cars, and enough ridiculous simulators to make your wallet feel nervous from several aisles away.
What stood out most to me was not just the size of some of the booths, but how broad the show felt overall. This was not one of those expos where three brands dominate the whole conversation and everyone else feels like background noise. There were major names here, yes, but there were also smaller companies showing genuinely cool ideas, unusual hardware, and some very promising first impressions. So, rather than trying to force this into a top ten list, I think the best way to do it is simply to walk through the floor and cover what stood out.
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One of the first booths you would run into was PXN. Their setup was not massive, but they still had some interesting things going on. They were showing off two simulators, their newer GT-style wheel, the VDX series direct drive bases, and a handful of upcoming accessories including a button box, handbrake, and sequential shifter. They were also giving away quite a bit of merch, including bumper ducks, which was admittedly a funny little detail that made the booth feel a bit more lively.
PXN feels like one of those brands that keeps trying to climb further into the serious sim racing conversation, and this booth reflected that pretty well. It was not the flashiest presence of the whole event, but it did enough to show that the company is continuing to broaden its ecosystem. If you have been keeping an eye on them lately, there was definitely enough here to justify a closer look.
Trak Racer was positioned front and center with a massive booth, and they brought a lot. The most eye-catching thing there was easily the brand-new TRZ motorcycle simulator. It looked insane, and more importantly, it felt genuinely unique. That is not the sort of thing you see every day in this hobby, and it immediately drew attention for obvious reasons.
But that was far from the only thing they had going on. They also showed off a Porsche-branded cockpit, a full carbon fiber TRX frame that genuinely looked absurdly light, and an Aston Martin branded simulator that is planned for later this year. On top of that, there were Hot Wheels branded rigs, an Alpine Racing replica F1 wheel that looked extremely cool, and even a controller with force feedback built into it. That last one sounds a little silly when you first hear it, but in person it actually worked surprisingly well.
Trak Racer’s booth felt like one of the clearest examples of a company trying to cover everything from mainstream rigs to more unusual and show-stealing products. Whether all of it ends up mattering equally is another discussion, but as a booth experience, it absolutely worked.
Nearby, SimCraft was doing what SimCraft usually does, which is showing off motion systems that feel wildly out of reach for normal people and completely fascinating at the same time. SRP was also there with some of the best-looking pedals at the show, and honestly, those are absolutely on my radar now because they looked excellent in person.
Flatout Sim Racing was showing off custom-built simulators with huge triple screen setups, and SimXPro had its aluminum profile chassis on display as expected. Simifi also had several high-end simulators, including one particularly huge setup that looked like the sort of thing you would buy only after deciding your living room should no longer function as a living room. That part of the show floor really hammered home how strong the custom and premium simulator market has become.
As usual, Fanatec had one of the biggest booths at the event and brought a little bit of everything. Nearly the entire product lineup was there, but the bigger draw was how the booth was presented. They also had an M4 GT3 on display and Formula-style ClubSport rigs around it, which helped make the whole thing feel more like a complete brand showcase than just rows of hardware on shelves.
Sharing that space was MPI, and that was a very cool addition. MPI makes all kinds of real motorsport steering wheels that can be integrated with sim racing hubs, so there was an interesting mix of real-world and sim hardware overlap there. They had rigs set up with different ecosystems, including Fanatec, Simagic, Logitech, and Moza.
The Moza setup in particular was important because it was being used to show off the new Moza motion platform. All of those simulators were provided by Rented Sim, which, yes, is exactly what it sounds like. A North Carolina-based business renting out racing simulators. That was obviously fun to see represented on the floor.
One of the more impressive booths for me was Race Day, which is a brand-new sim racing cockpit manufacturer. Their rigs looked excellent. Both the GT and Formula-style versions had a very distinct design language, and they stood out immediately from the crowd. What made that booth even cooler was the fact that the company is being run by a 27-year-old owner doing this largely on his own. That was very impressive, and the product itself backed up the attention it was getting.
CSRS also had one of the most unexpected displays, with go-kart style simulator rigs built for kids. They were genuinely adorable and also pretty clever. It was a completely different part of the market than most of the other booths were targeting, but that is exactly why it stood out. The expo felt broader because companies like this were there doing something unusual.
Operation Motorsport was another booth worth highlighting. They are running a sim racing league for veterans, built around structured competition and peer support. That is genuinely meaningful work, and it was good to see them represented. It added a different kind of value to the floor beyond just product launches and flashy hardware.
Thrustmaster had a strong presence with four simulators running direct drive systems and a collection of their steering wheels laid out for display. The most interesting thing there for me was the Ferrari 296 replica bundle for kids. It is small, does not have force feedback, and is clearly not aimed at the serious sim racer, but for around a hundred dollars it still looked surprisingly cool for what it was.
Huston Belt was also there showing off its new steering wheel and a prototype button box, and their booth looked very clean overall. Then right in front of them was Boundless Racing, which had one of the more stylish booth setups at the event. They went with a very cozy aesthetic, with simulators, a little coffee bar, a couch, and a much warmer presentation than the usual expo booth formula. It worked really well.
BDH had one of the more dramatic booth presentations thanks to its wraparound display, but the real star there was the active shifter. It looked huge, expensive, and very clearly aimed at the buyer who already has everything else. At around two and a half thousand dollars, it is definitely not normal-person hardware, but it was still one of the most hyped products on the floor for good reason.
Right next to that, D-Box and Pimax were doing exactly what you would expect by drawing crowds with a mix of motion and VR. If you put those two things together at an expo, people will stop. Pimax was also showing off its new Dream Air headset, which is tiny and looked very promising in person. That booth had a lot of energy around it all weekend.
VRS had a very strong booth with rigs, pedals, wheelbases, and plenty of other hardware on display. Their newer pedal set drew a lot of eyes, and for good reason. With haptics and dampers integrated into the design, they looked very serious. They are not available just yet, but they definitely got attention.
Conspit also showed up strong, as usual, with triple screen rigs, a huge wraparound display, and a prototype H-pattern and sequential shifter that looked extremely promising. Genuinely, that shifter felt very good. Pricing and availability are still to be determined, but it was one of the better prototype products I came across at the show.
Simucube and Driven Dynamics were also there with three utterly ridiculous high-end builds showing off some of the best that sim racing currently has to offer. Motion, carbon seats, top-tier hardware everywhere, and basically zero regard for normal budgets. Podium 1, meanwhile, was once again center stage with a giant booth full of massive systems and motion platforms everywhere you looked. As usual, they drew crowds all weekend.
NASCAR had a big booth next to the center stage built around the story of the eNASCAR Coca-Cola series, complete with two NASCAR cars and a well-presented sim experience. It looked polished, drew attention, and felt like a very fitting presence for a Charlotte-based event.
Simagic, working alongside SimHQ, also had a huge amount of hardware on display. The biggest new thing there for me was the new ZU wheel lineup, which looked fantastic. Asetek Racing was also there with a major booth and plenty of hardware, including its new H-pattern and sequential shifter plus the upcoming handbrake. Both of those products looked very interesting in person, especially given the aggressive pricing.
iRacing had one of the cleaner booths at the event too, with multiple simulators showing off everything from the core iRacing experience to iRacing Arcade and NASCAR 25. It was great to see them there. Advanced SimRacing was also present promoting D-Box motion systems, and Sympatico Sim Shop, a Florida-based distributor, rounded things out by showing off a broad range of products from the brands they carry.
So that was Sim Expo USA 2026 in Charlotte, or at least as much of it as I could reasonably pack into one tour. The big takeaway for me is that this show absolutely worked. It had major brands, smaller brands, serious product reveals, weird products, expensive products, and enough variety that it actually felt exciting to walk around. For a first Charlotte show, that is a very good sign.
What I liked most was that it did not feel one-dimensional. Yes, the giant booths were there. Yes, the expensive motion rigs were there. But so were the smaller builders, the unusual products, the community-focused organizations, and the brands trying something different. That made the whole floor feel much more alive. If this expo keeps growing from here, it could become a genuinely important event on the sim racing calendar.
All in all, I had a great time. And for anyone who missed it, hopefully this gives you a solid picture of what was there and why it mattered.
