Electronic Arts Introduces EA Sports WRC, Due November 3

[T0@st]

Electronic Arts is excited to introduce EA SPORTS WRC, the official game of the FIA World Rally Championship coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via EA App, Epic Store, and Steam on November 3, 2023. Developed by the team behind the critically acclaimed DiRT Rally series, with over 25 years of off-road videogame heritage, EA SPORTS WRC is a truly next-generation rally game and the quintessential title for sim-racing enthusiasts.

Ross Gowing, Senior Creative Director at Codemasters: "EA SPORTS WRC is the purest form of motorsport where every stage is a fight against the clock, the terrain, and yourself. 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."




Get your first look at EA SPORTS WRC with this reveal trailer! Build the car of your dreams in the all-new official video game of the FIA World Rally Championship, the first developed by the award-winning team behind the DiRT Rally series. Design and drive your dream rally car with the debut of Builder mode, race and overcome recent events alongside real-world highlights and nostalgic throwbacks in Moments mode, or battle the elements across dirt, snow, and asphalt in the pursuit of the perfect run.

A New Generation of Sim Racer
Taking the power of the Unreal Engine with the DiRT Rally series physics, EA SPORTS WRC delivers longer, more detailed stages than previously possible, with 18 official FIA World Rally Championship locations and over 600 km of unforgiving asphalt, gravel, and snow stages. Ross Gowing, Senior Creative Director at Codemasters: "The game's new engine has enabled us to push rally to the edge of what's deemed possible."



Legends of the Modern and Historic Ages
EA SPORTS WRC boasts 10 current WRC, WRC2, and Junior WRC vehicles and 68 of the most iconic rally cars spanning 60 years of the sport.

Working together with official WRC teams and manufacturers, such as Ford, Toyota, and Hyundai, each vehicle is built to tackle every challenge they'll face throughout the season. The hybrid-powered 4WD Rally1 cars are some of the fastest in the sport's history, capable of incredible speeds while tackling gravity-defying jumps, deteriorating surfaces, and adverse weather.



Handling Authenticity
The advanced Dynamic Handling System refines Codemasters' original model and gives players our most realistic off-road experience to date. Taking feedback from drivers, including Jon Armstrong, our very own game designer and current European Rally Championship 3 Champion, players can choose the same professional driver set-up mirroring the experience drivers encounter every race week.



New players can personalise the handling, making adjustments to help them master the ultimate player versus environment off-road challenge. The realism extends to audio, with each car intricately replicated, and new pace notes, including simplified commands for rookie drivers, give much-needed information to the player as they battle through each stage.

Build Your Legacy
The introduction of Builder fulfils the dream of those longing to create their very own modern-era rally car. Select the chassis, body shells, and all-important mechanical parts before customising the interior and exterior, finally personalising with the livery editor. Put the car through its paces and make any necessary adjustments before competing for the World Championship against the best competition WRC has to offer.



Greater Multiplayer Connections
EA SPORTS WRC brings our fans together with 32 player cross-platform multiplayer, allowing for competition between friends and the wider rally community. Using EA Racenet, EA's racing companion app, Clubs serve as community-built hubs offering custom multi-surface tournaments with racing at any location and time of year. Alongside personalised events, Moments, updated daily in-game, give players the chance to relive pivotal scenarios from the 2023 season alongside classic events from the sport's archives.

Ross Gowing, Senior Creative Director at Codemasters: "Additional features, including Builder and Moments, give players even more ways to interact with the sport they love."

CAR LIST
Ready to face the world of rally? Here is the car list for EA SPORTS WRC. Check back over the coming weeks as more cars get revealed.

Pre-order for Early Access
Pre-order EA SPORTS WRC to receive five VIP passes, each containing additional post-launch content, three vanity packs consisting of liveries and apparel, and up to three days of early access starting October 31, 2023.



To keep up to date on the latest EA SPORTS WRC news and to be informed on the exact timing of the patch, be sure to follow the official Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and YouTube channels.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site | Source

 

[Chomiq]

EA and WRC, match made in heaven:

 

[W1zzard]

Considering that a game like this will not even peak at 10k players at launch, it's almost guaranteed to be a financial loss?

 

[randomUser]

Can't wait to get offline version without "passes" crap.

 

[Deleted member 185088]

EA and WRC, match made in heaven:
View attachment 312342

This more an issue with those paying for rubbish, why would I pay for liveries, in F2P yeah makes sense if the game's good you help the developer.

 

[TheoneandonlyMrK]

Can't wait to get offline version without "passes" crap.

I'll probably get the legit all in version on two years, I don't Do skins n passes too.

It's a shame but I do support codemasters team, they should never have narrowed they're output so much in the first place, now look what EA will do to them.

 

[zlobby]

The advanced Dynamic Handling System refines Codemasters' original model

Read: it was cheaper to reuse the original mechanics.

Considering that a game like this will not even peak at 10k players at launch, it's almost guaranteed to be a financial loss?

Given how much 'effort' they will put in it,i.e. zero, it may as well be profitable.

 

[de.das.dude]

lets see how they massacre the dirt series....

 

[Scircura]

Dirt Rally and Super Mega Baseball are my two favorite sports franchises. EA purchased both series' developers a couple years ago and their first post-acquisition games are releasing this year. SMB4 came out a few months ago and was a bit of a disappointment but far from "ruined by EA". So this game may not be horrible.

I'll never purchase it, of course. Just like SMB4 it has always-online EA launcher DRM and Denuvo to boot, and I will never buy a single player game that stops working whenever the publisher gets bored with maintaining servers. EA has a bad track record (get it? track record for a racing game) for this.

 

[AusWolf]

It looks just like Dirt Rally (2.0), which is cool, but makes you wonder why you should buy this game if you already have the aforementioned.

 

[_JP_]

Considering that a game like this will not even peak at 10k players at launch, it's almost guaranteed to be a financial loss?

Yes, because there is so much recycled content behind a paywall with season passes due to having to migrate from the Ego Engine to Unreal, that any actual RallySim die-hard will just keep DR1, RBR and so on. DR2.0 is still okay now, for those that have good internet connections and bought the GOTY edition at a discount (so that you can actually get a full game). Don't forget that Paul Coleman left Codies, back in 2018.
Thus, EA will shut another studio down, making this game full EA-Cycle compatible and compliant.

 

[AusWolf]

Yes, because there is so much recycled content behind a paywall with season passes due to having to migrate from the Ego Engine to Unreal, that any actual RallySim die-hard will just keep DR1, RBR and so on. DR2.0 is still okay now, for those that have good internet connections and bought the GOTY edition at a discount (so that you can actually get a full game). Don't forget that Paul Coleman left Codies, back in 2018.
Thus, EA will shut another studio down, making this game full EA-Cycle compatible and compliant.

Well, it's being developed by Codemasters, so considering the amount of content they can recycle from other games they've done through the years, development costs should be minimal, while the bazillion DLC packs should keep income at a maximum (in theory).

 

[de.das.dude]

Yes, because there is so much recycled content behind a paywall with season passes due to having to migrate from the Ego Engine to Unreal, that any actual RallySim die-hard will just keep DR1, RBR and so on. DR2.0 is still okay now, for those that have good internet connections and bought the GOTY edition at a discount (so that you can actually get a full game). Don't forget that Paul Coleman left Codies, back in 2018.
Thus, EA will shut another studio down, making this game full EA-Cycle compatible and compliant.

this is what i fear will happen to the team. but lets be honest, you and me both in software dev already know that the "good folks" who were part of making the awesome dirt rally series probably have already jumped ship