EA Sports WRC Is The Apparent Successor To The Dirt Racing Series

Electronic Arts has revealed EA Sports WRC, which is the official game of the FIA World Rally championship. It will launch on November 3 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S, while those who preorder it have up to three days of early access starting on October 31.

Codemasters, the developer behind the Dirt Rally racing series, is behind EA Sports WRC. "This is the rally game we’ve always wanted to make, combining our studio’s deep knowledge and expertise with the power of the official WRC license representing the pinnacle of rally motorsport," explained senior creative director Ross Gowling in a statement.

He continued, saying, "The game’s new engine has enabled us to push rally to the edge of what’s deemed possible, and the additional features, including Builder and Moments, give players even more ways to interact with the sport they love."

WRC will feature 10 current WRC, WRC2, and Junior WRC vehicles and 68 rally cars. Additionally, the game will have 32-player cross-platform multiplayer. Through the game's Builder mode, players can create their own rally car by selecting the chassis, body shell, and mechanical parts, as well as the interior and exterior.

EA has retired some of Codemasters's older racing franchises. Last year, EA internally announced that it would stop further development on the Project Cars franchise, only three years after it had acquired the IP from Slightly Mad Studios back in 2019. After the acquisition occurred, some Codemasters executives left the studio. EA shut down the online servers for Onrush last year as well.