EA Sports WRC

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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

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

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.