All information on Codemasters’ return to rallying

After several years of official WRC games made by French developer Kylotonn Games, EA and Dirt Rally studio Codemasters are taking over as of Oct. 31. The game that was born as Dirt Rally 3.0 is now called EA Sports WRC and after four years of development, it is finally starting to look finished and ready for a fall launch.

We at Gamereactor have had a chance to play it and talk to the studio, and have a larger interview with producer Ross Gowing in the works and coming up, which means that instead in this article we’ll write a bit about what we can talk about so far.

EA Sports WRC will be released on Oct. 31 for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S for anyone who has pre-ordered the game, but those who have not yet done so will have to wait until Nov. 3. It will feature 17 rallies, 13 of which have been plucked directly from the ongoing WRC 2023 season. These countries are:

• Portugal
• Sardinia
• Kenya
• Monte Carlo
• Sweden
• Croatia
• Estonia
• Finland
• Greece
• Mexico
• Japan
• Chile
• Central Europe (released as free DLC after launch)

In addition to the official WRC 2023 countries, Codemasters has also included five additional rallies in EA Sports WRC and these five have been named as follows for rights reasons:

• Iberia (France)
• Scandia (Norway)
• Pacifico (New Zealand/Australia)
• Oceania (Indonesia)
• Mediterraneo (Spain)

Each of these 18 countries will include at least 35 miles of unique road, meaning that the game as a whole will offer 65 miles of unique road, which is more than three times as much as Dirt Rally 2.0, including all the DLC for that game. The tracks are all based on real WRC circuits/roads, although not all are currently used for competition. Codemasters, through GPS measurements, satellite imagery, aerial imagery, film and hundreds of thousands of photos, has recreated tons of classic WRC tracks and there will be 204 tracks in the game at launch.

When it comes to car selection, there will be 78 cars, which is two vehicles less than in Dirt Rally 2.0. This is mainly due to the fact that Codemasters is skipping the Rally GT class entirely with Mustangs and Aston Martins and instead focusing on real WRC cars, including the three Rally1 stable hybrid cars fighting for the championship title in this year’s WRC season.

EA Sports WRC is Codemasters’ first game based on Unreal Engine and on Unreal Engine 4.9 to be exact. The change in graphics technology was done as early as late 2019 because the in-house built Ego Engine could not handle distances longer than about two miles, which was the main reason for the change, along with the simplicity of Unreal’s editor, which allows the team to build many more roads than they have ever done before.

WRC Car List

• Ford Puma Rally1 HYBRIDE
• Hyundai i20 N Rally1 HYBRIDE
• Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 HYBRIDE

WRC2 Cars

• Citroën C3 Rally2
• Ford Fiesta Rally2
• Hyundai i20 N Rally2
• ŠKODA Fabia Rally2 Evo
• ŠKODA Fabia RS Rally2
• Volkswagen Polo GTI R5

Junior WRC

World Rally Cars 2017-2021

• Ford Fiesta WRC
• Volkswagen Polo 2017

World Rally Cars 1997-2011

• Citroën C4 WRC
• Citroën Xsara WRC
• Ford Focus RS Rally 2001
• Ford Focus RS Rally 2008
• MINI Countryman Rally Edition
• Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI
• Peugeot 206 Rally
• Seat Córdoba WRC
• ŠKODA Fabia WRC
• Subaru Impreza 1998
• Subaru Impreza 2001
• Subaru Impreza 2008

Rally2

• Ford Fiesta R5 MK7 Evo 2
• Peugeot 208 T16 R5

NOTE: All WRC2 cars can participate in Rally2 car class events.

Rally4 Cars

• Ford Fiesta MK8 Rally4
• Opel Adam R2
• Peugeot 208 Rally4
• Renault Twingo II

NR4/R4

• McRae R4
• Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X
• SUBARU WRX STI NR4

S2000

• Fiat Grande Punto Abarth S2000
• Opel Corsa S2000
• Peugeot 207 S2000

S1600

• Citroën C2 Super 1600
• Citroën Saxo Super 1600
• Ford Puma S1600
• Renault Clio S1600

F2 Kit Cars

• Ford Escort Mk 6 Maxi
• Peugeot 306 Maxi
• Renault Maxi Mégane
• Seat Ibiza Kit Auto
• Vauxhall Astra Rally Car
• Volkswagen Golf IV Kit Car

Group A

• Ford Escort RS Cosworth
• Lancia Delta HF Integrale
• Mitsubishi Galant VR4
• Subaru Impreza 1995
• SUBARU Legacy RS

Group B (4WD)

• Audi Sport quattro S1 (E2)
• Ford RS200
• Lancia Delta S4
• Metro MG 6R4
• Peugeot 205 T16 Evo 2

Group B (RWD)

• BMW M1 Procar Rally
• Lancia 037 Evo 2 Search Terms
• Opel Manta 400
• Porsche 911 SC RS

H3 (RWD)

• BMW M3 Evo Rally
• Ford Escort MK2 McRae Motorsport
• Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500
• Lancia Stratos
• Opel Ascona 400
• Renault 5 Turbo

H2 (RWD)

• Alpine Renault A110 1600 S
• Fiat 131 Abarth Rally
• Ford Escort MK2
• Hillman Avenger
• Opel Kadett C GT/E
• Talbot Sunbeam Lotus

H2 (FWD)

• Peugeot 205 GTI
• Peugeot 309 GTI
• Volkswagen Golf GTI

H1 (FWD)

• Lancia Fulvia HF
• MINI Cooper S
• Opel Nova Sport

Builder Cars

• WRC Builder Car
• WRC2 Builder Car
• Junior WRC Builder Car

In addition to the Career mode, Free play and daily challenges through the online mode, EA Sports WRC includes a Build mode in which we rally drivers have the opportunity to completely rebuild our own rally car. Choice of powertrain, engine, engine location, dampers, brakes and body parts will naturally lead us to see many imaginative creations on Codemasters’ online servers. The team managed to transfer car physics to Unreal Engine and once there polished, trimmed and refined the feel of weight and friction. One of the most criticized parts of Dirt Rally 2.0 was undoubtedly the asphalt physics, which was completely rewritten for this game, from the ground up.

This week we can publish our big interview with Codemasters.