Software:EA Sports WRC

From HandWiki
Short description: 2023 racing video game

EA Sports WRC
Cover art for the PC version, featuring the Ford Puma Rally1
Developer(s)Codemasters
Publisher(s)EA Sports
SeriesWRC
EngineUnreal Engine 4
Platform(s)
Release3 November 2023
Genre(s)Sim racing
Mode(s)Single-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

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic(PC) 80/100
(PS5) 77/100
(XSXS) 76/100
Review scores
PublicationScore
Eurogamer4/5[25]
Hardcore Gamer4/5[22]
Shacknews8/10[23]
VG2474/5[24]

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. https://www.eurogamer.net/after-parting-ways-with-ea-wrc-gets-new-home-and-six-year-deal-to-reboot-rally-series. 
  2. ↑ Wales, Matt (5 September 2023). "Codemasters' EA Sports WRC gets November release date and first trailer". Eurogamer. https://www.eurogamer.net/codemasters-ea-sports-wrc-gets-november-release-date-and-first-trailer. 
  3. ↑ Barry, Luke (5 September 2023). "EA Sports WRC – What you need to know". https://dirtfish.com/rally/wrc/ea-sports-wrc-what-you-need-to-know/. 
  4. ↑ Bigg, Martin (9 September 2023). "EA Sports WRC: 5 New Cars Confirmed". https://racinggames.gg/wrc/ea-sports-wrc-5-new-cars-confirmed/. 
  5. ↑ Howson, George (6 September 2023). "EA Sports WRC 23 Car Builder: Everything you need to know". https://racinggames.gg/wrc/ea-sports-wrc-car-builder/. 
  6. ↑ Croft, Liam (5 September 2023). "EA Sports WRC Takes Rallying 'Next-Gen' on PS5 This November". Push Square. https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2023/09/ea-sports-wrc-takes-rallying-next-gen-on-ps5-this-november. 
  7. ↑ Yang, George (6 September 2023). "EA Sports WRC Is The Apparent Successor To The Dirt Racing Series". GameSpot. https://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-sports-wrc-is-the-apparent-successor-to-the-dirt-racing-series/1100-6517516/. 
  8. ↑ Erl, Josef (7 September 2023). "EA Sports announces virtual reality mode for racing sim WRC". https://mixed-news.com/en/ea-sports-announces-virtual-reality-mode-for-racing-sim-wrc/. 
  9. ↑ Silva, João (4 September 2023). "EA will reveal its very first official WRC game tomorrow". kitguru.net. https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/joao-silva/ea-will-reveal-its-very-first-official-wrc-game-tomorrow/. 
  10. ↑ Ismail, Adam (1 September 2023). "EA Sports WRC Rally Game Is Finally Coming as Sequel to Dirt Rally 2.0". thedrive.com. https://www.thedrive.com/news/ea-sports-wrc-rally-game-is-finally-coming-as-sequel-to-dirt-rally-2-0. 
  11. ↑ Purslow, Matt (1 June 2020). "Codemasters Regains WRC License After 18 Years". IGN. https://www.ign.com/articles/codemasters-wrc-license. 
  12. ↑ Reilly, Luke (5 September 2023). "EA Sports WRC Announced, Arrives November". IGN. https://www.ign.com/articles/ea-sports-wrc-announced-arrives-november. 
  13. ↑ Batchelor, James (13 January 2021). "Take-Two withdraws bid for Codemasters following EA offer of $1.2bn". GamesIndustry.biz. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-01-13-take-two-withdraws-bid-for-codemasters-following-ea-offer-of-usd1-2bn. 
  14. ↑ Harrison-Lord, Thomas (5 September 2023). "EA SPORTS WRC is a radical new official game, launches November". Autosport. https://www.autosport.com/esports/news/ea-sports-wrc-is-a-radical-new-official-game-launches-november/10516586/. 
  15. ↑ Sirio, Paolo (4 September 2023). "EA Sports WRC is releasing in November 2023, features new engine and cross-play". videogames.si.com. https://videogames.si.com/news/ea-sports-wrc-release-date. 
  16. ↑ Harrison-Lord, Thomas (4 September 2023). "This is EA SPORTS WRC's cover". traxion.gg. https://traxion.gg/this-is-ea-sports-wrcs-cover/. 
  17. ↑ "World Rally Championship driver, esports champion, and EA employee". Electronic Arts. 3 October 2025. https://www.ea.com/news/jon-armstrong-wrc. 
  18. ↑ Harrison-Lord, Thomas (18 September 2024). "EA Sports WRC's 2024 DLC expansion: all you need to know". traxion.gg. https://traxion.gg/ea-sports-wrcs-2024-dlc-expansion-all-you-need-to-know/. 
  19. ↑ Hirons, Ryan (27 September 2024). "Here's How Much EA Sport WRC's 24 Expansion Will Cost". carthrottle.com. https://www.carthrottle.com/news/heres-how-much-ea-sport-wrcs-24-expansion-will-cost. 
  20. ↑ "EA SPORTS™ WRC - Development Update". 1 May 2025. https://www.ea.com/games/ea-sports-wrc/wrc-24/news/wrc-development-update. 
  21. ↑ Reilly, Luke (1 May 2025). "Codemasters ‘Pausing’ Development Plans on Future Rally Games". https://nordic.ign.com/dirt-rally-20/93751/news/codemasters-pausing-development-plans-on-future-rally-games. 
  22. ↑ Wells, Cory (2 November 2023). "Review: EA SPORTS WRC". https://hardcoregamer.com/reviews/review-ea-sports-wrc/477379/. 
  23. ↑ Ole Peek, Jan (30 October 2023). "EA Sports WRC review: An adrenaline-filled thrill ride". https://www.shacknews.com/article/137583/ea-sports-wrc-review-an-adrenaline-filled-thrill-ride. 
  24. ↑ Warren, Mark (8 November 2023). "EA Sports WRC review: Fast, flowing rally fun". VG247. https://www.vg247.com/ea-sports-wrc-review. 
  25. ↑ Wise, Josh (7 November 2023). "EA Sports WRC review - a bracing and richly textured celebration of rally". Eurogamer. https://www.eurogamer.net/ea-sports-wrc-review-a-bracing-and-richly-textured-celebration-of-rally. 
  26. ↑ "EA Sports WRC PC". CBS Interactive. https://www.metacritic.com/game/ea-sports-wrc/. 



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