EA Sports WRC was developed by veteran racing game studio Codemasters, the team behind the Colin McRae and Dirt Rally series. EA Sports WRC will be available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, as well as PC, on November 3, 2023 (or October 31, 2023 for players who pre-ordered).
Codemasters Creative Director Ross Gowing said: “EA Sports WRC is the purest form of motorsport, where every stage is a battle against time, terrain and yourself. This is the racing game we’ve always wanted to make, combining the knowledge and experience of the studio with the power of WRC licenses to represent the pinnacle of motorsport. The new engine has allowed us to push racing to the limit, and additional features, including Builder and Moments, will give players even more ways to interact with the sport they love.”
According to Codemasters, EA Sports WRC retains the physics of the Dirt Rally series, but the switch to Unreal Engine will make the races longer and more detailed than before. EA Sports WRC includes 18 official venues from the FIA World Racing Championship (Central Europe will be released as a post-launch update) and over 600km of racing. Ten race cars from the current WRC, WRC2 and Junior WRC races will appear alongside 68 other iconic race cars from the sport’s 60-year history. The game will also feature a ‘Builder’ mode, which will allow players to “select the chassis, bodywork, and key mechanical components before customizing the interior and exterior of the vehicle.”
EA Sports WRC also has cross-platform multiplayer that supports up to 32 players. Moments mode allows players to “relive key moments from the 2023 season alongside classic events from the sport.” Codemasters obtained an official WRC license in June 2020, although the five-year exclusivity won’t start until this year. EA acquired developer Codemasters just over six months later.
