Real Racing 3 is a 2013 racing game developed by Firemonkeys Studios and published by Electronic Arts for iOS, Android (including Microsoft Surface Duo), Nvidia Shield and BlackBerry 10 devices.

It was released on iOS and Android on February 28, 2013, under the freemium business model; it was free to download, with enhancements available through in-app purchases.

Primarily due to the freemium nature of the game, it received less favorable reviews than its predecessors, although the gameplay remains generally lauded.

[5] The game features include over 45 circuits at 20 real-world locations, a 22-car grid, and over 400 licensed cars from 42 manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Porsche, Lamborghini, Bugatti, Ford, Bentley, McLaren, Chevrolet, and Koenigsegg.

Depending on the number of fame points required to reach the new level, the game rewards from 5 to 100 gold coins.

Gold coins are earned only by finishing each quarter of a series, advancing to a higher driver level, completing Game Center/Google Play Games achievements (as of update 2.1), by watching fifteen to thirty second advertisements available in-game, collecting daily bonuses every day, completing partner offers, or competing in weekly time trials and multiplayer events.

A significant component of the game is that the player must wait for maintenance and the "delivery" of newly purchased cars.

[8] In response to negative fan feedback and bad press, EA and Firemonkeys tweaked the repair times in update 1.1 so that damage was repaired instantly whereas maintenance times became significantly shorter, although could still only be bypassed completely with the use of gold coins.

Introduced in update 1.2 in July 2013, Drive points are required for the player to participate in time trials.

The player is given seven different control methods from which to choose: "Tilt A", chosen by default, features accelerometer steering (tilting the physical device to the left to turn left and to the right to turn right), auto accelerate and manual brake; "Tilt B" features accelerometer steering, manual accelerate and manual brake; "Tilt C" is the same as "Tilt B" but with the virtual gas pedal below virtual brake pedal; "Tilt C (Flipped)" is the same as "Tilt C" but with the virtual gas and brake pedals swapped in positions; "Wheel A" features a virtual on-screen steering wheel to steer, auto accelerate and manual brake; "Wheel A (Flipped)" is the same as "Wheel A" but with the virtual steering wheel on the right of the screen and the brake on the left; "Wheel B" features a virtual steering wheel to steer, manual accelerate and manual brake; "Wheel B (Flipped)"; "Buttons" features touch to steer (where the player touches the left side of the touchscreen to turn left, and the right side to turn right), auto accelerate and manual brake.

Time is added, up to a maximum 90 seconds, for overtaking other cars and completing laps); "Head-to-Head" (similar to Cup but with just one opponent); "Autocross" (the player must complete a certain portion of a track within a given time); "Speed Record" (the player must reach a certain speed over the course of a single lap); "Speed Snap" (the player must complete a certain portion of a track, and must cross the finishing line at a certain speed); "Drag Race" (a two car drag race, with three opponents taking turns); "Hunter" (the opponent is given a head start against the player, and the player must try to reduce the gap and/or overtake the opponent by the largest amount by the end of the lap to win); "Time Trial" (the player must complete a lap as fast as possible without all four tires leaving the track or the car bumping into the walls; Time Trial events require Drive points unless the car is fully upgraded).

[13] However, TSM has not been especially well received, with many reviewers lamenting the game's lack of a "normal" online mode.

If games like Dota and Tribes are the warm, welcoming faces of free-to-play, then Real Racing 3 is the grotesque polar opposite, the snarling grinch that's the embodiment of every sceptic's worst nightmare.

"[18] AppSpy's Andrew Nesvadba, while less critical, scoring the game 3 out of 5, also derided the in-app purchase system, which he called "all but impenetrable" and "designed to exact payment from the player over and over again.

He praised the gameplay and graphics, but, like AppSpy, he was critical of the in-app purchase system; "EA has taken the air out of the tires of Real Racing 3's lightning quick gameplay, effectively turning one of the best iOS games on the market into a frustrating, stop-and-go test on your patience.

"[23] Slide to Play's Shawn Leonard gave the game a rating of 2 out of 4, praising the game's visuals and gameplay, but criticising the freemium model, the TSM system, and the "painfully long" wait times.

He wrote, "the reality is that Real Racing 3 is a high-profile business experiment gone wrong.

Davis felt that the freemium model was aimed mainly at impatient gamers, as he had not spent any real-world money during his playtest, and noted that wait times became less odious once a player had several vehicles so they could race one while another was undergoing maintenance.

"[19] Edge scored the game 6 out of 10, and although they were critical of the waiting times, they also felt that the players' desires to avoid such waiting times added to the realism of the gameplay; "Firemonkeys has done an admirable job of folding those paywalls into the gameplay.

Having to keep your car serviced to maintain peak performance strengthens Real Racing's sim aspirations, while the need to pay for repairs encourages more thoughtful driving and adds a real-world layer of peril to overtaking.

"[17] Rob Rich of 148Apps scored the game 4.5 out of 5, arguing that "the important thing to note is that Real Racing 3 is very, very awesome."

He was critical of the TSM system, which he found "underwhelming", but he praised the graphics and defended the freemium model; "rather than create a paywall or punish frugal iOS gamers, Firemonkeys has created a much friendlier model in theory that ties all real time waiting and premium currency to maintenance and repairs.