EA Sports WRC

EA Sports WRC
Cover art for the PC version, featuring the Ford Puma Rally1
DeveloperCodemasters
PublisherEA Sports
SeriesWRC
EngineUnreal Engine 4
Platforms
Release3 November 2023
GenreSim racing
ModesSingle-player, multiplayer

EA Sports WRC, also known as EA WRC or simply WRC, is a racing video game developed by Codemasters and published by EA Sports. It held the official licence (acquired by Codemasters in 2020 and relinquished in 2025[1]) of the World Rally Championship and is powered by Unreal Engine 4. It was the first Codemasters rally game to have the official WRC licence since Colin McRae Rally 3 in 2002. The game was released for Windows, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on 3 November 2023. In 2024, 2 paid DLCs have been released for the game.

Gameplay

EA Sports WRC features 78 rally cars.[2] 10 Groups Rally cars are from the World Rally Championship, including three Rally1 vehicles such as the Puma of M-Sport, the i20 N of Hyundai and the GR Yaris of Toyota and seven other cars from the support categories — the World Rally Championship-2 and the Junior World Rally Championship, including Ford Fiesta Rally3 — as well as 68 classic rally cars.[3] The other rally cars include Citroën Xsara WRC, Mini John Cooper Works WRC, Ford Fiesta Rally4 and Colin McRae R4, which was previously featured in DiRT 3.[4] Car Builder, which is similar to My Team of the F1 series, allows players to create and customise their own rally cars.[5] The game includes over 200 competition stages across 18 WRC rallies.[6] Multiplayer mode is available for up to 32 cross-platform players.[7] Virtual reality mode is planned to be implemented in the future.[8]

Development and release

The game was revealed on 5 September 2023.[9] It was initially built as a sequel to Dirt Rally 2.0.[10] Codemasters, the developer of the F1 series, started development of a WRC video game after they regained the licence in 2020.[11] The last game by Codemasters with WRC licence was Colin McRae Rally 3 released in 2002, featuring the 2002 season.[12] EA Sports published the game after Codemasters was acquired by Electronic Arts in 2021.[13] The game is powered by Unreal Engine 4, replacing Ego, which Codemasters had been using for its Dirt series since 2009's Colin McRae: Dirt 2.[14]

The game was available for Windows, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on 3 November 2023.[15] It featured three covers, featuring the Ford Puma Rally1 on PC, Hyundai i20 N Rally1 on Xbox and Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 on PS5.[16] Jon Armstrong, a professional rally driver, worked on the game throughout its development as a game designer.[17]

A major expansion entitled EA Sports WRC 24, also known as EA WRC 24 or simply WRC 24, was launched as downloadable content on 8 October 2024.[18] The expansion featured the official 2024 season cars and two additional locations, Rally Latvia and Rally Poland.[19]

In May 2025, it was announced[20] that Codemasters had stopped development on future WRC titles, leaving EA Sports WRC as the only title made under the license.[21]

Reception

EA Sports WRC received "generally favorable reviews", according to review aggregator Metacritic.[26] Reviewers praised the handling model, the extensive stage length and the car builder. Criticism mainly stemmed from frame-rate issues, especially on the Windows version.

References

  1. ↑ Wales, Matt (27 May 2025). "After parting ways with EA, WRC gets new home and six-year deal to "reboot" rally series". Eurogamer. Retrieved 30 June 2026.
  2. ↑ Wales, Matt (5 September 2023). "Codemasters' EA Sports WRC gets November release date and first trailer". Eurogamer. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  3. ↑ Barry, Luke (5 September 2023). "EA Sports WRC – What you need to know". dirtfish.com. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  4. ↑ Bigg, Martin (9 September 2023). "EA Sports WRC: 5 New Cars Confirmed". racinggames.gg. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  5. ↑ Howson, George (6 September 2023). "EA Sports WRC 23 Car Builder: Everything you need to know". racinggames.gg. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  6. ↑ Croft, Liam (5 September 2023). "EA Sports WRC Takes Rallying 'Next-Gen' on PS5 This November". Push Square. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  7. ↑ Yang, George (6 September 2023). "EA Sports WRC Is The Apparent Successor To The Dirt Racing Series". GameSpot. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  8. ↑ Erl, Josef (7 September 2023). "EA Sports announces virtual reality mode for racing sim WRC". mixed-news.com. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  9. ↑ Silva, João (4 September 2023). "EA will reveal its very first official WRC game tomorrow". kitguru.net. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  10. ↑ Ismail, Adam (1 September 2023). "EA Sports WRC Rally Game Is Finally Coming as Sequel to Dirt Rally 2.0". thedrive.com. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  11. ↑ Purslow, Matt (1 June 2020). "Codemasters Regains WRC License After 18 Years". IGN. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  12. ↑ Reilly, Luke (5 September 2023). "EA Sports WRC Announced, Arrives November". IGN. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  13. ↑ Batchelor, James (13 January 2021). "Take-Two withdraws bid for Codemasters following EA offer of $1.2bn". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
  14. ↑ Harrison-Lord, Thomas (5 September 2023). "EA SPORTS WRC is a radical new official game, launches November". Autosport. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  15. ↑ Sirio, Paolo (4 September 2023). "EA Sports WRC is releasing in November 2023, features new engine and cross-play". videogames.si.com. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  16. ↑ Harrison-Lord, Thomas (4 September 2023). "This is EA SPORTS WRC's cover". traxion.gg. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  17. ↑ "World Rally Championship driver, esports champion, and EA employee". Electronic Arts. 3 October 2025. Retrieved 17 December 2025.
  18. ↑ Harrison-Lord, Thomas (18 September 2024). "EA Sports WRC's 2024 DLC expansion: all you need to know". traxion.gg. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
  19. ↑ Hirons, Ryan (27 September 2024). "Here's How Much EA Sport WRC's 24 Expansion Will Cost". carthrottle.com. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
  20. ↑ "EA SPORTS™ WRC - Development Update". EA Sports WRC. 1 May 2025.
  21. ↑ Reilly, Luke (1 May 2025). "Codemasters 'Pausing' Development Plans on Future Rally Games". IGN Nordic.
  22. ↑ Wise, Josh (7 November 2023). "EA Sports WRC review - a bracing and richly textured celebration of rally". Eurogamer.
  23. ↑ Wells, Cory (2 November 2023). "Review: EA SPORTS WRC". Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  24. ↑ Ole Peek, Jan (30 October 2023). "EA Sports WRC review: An adrenaline-filled thrill ride". Shacknews. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  25. ↑ Warren, Mark (8 November 2023). "EA Sports WRC review: Fast, flowing rally fun". VG247.
  26. ↑ "EA Sports WRC PC". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
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