Codemasters ‘Pausing’ Development Plans on Future Rally Games
Codemasters has confirmed that no further expansions will be released for 2023’s EA Sports WRC, and that the team has “reached the end of the road” working on the game. Unfortunately, alongside this news comes the additional confirmation that Codemasters is also “pausing development plans on future rally titles.”
The veteran UK racing studio published the announcement via EA.com.
“Our WRC partnership was a culmination of sorts for our Codemasters journey with off-road racing, spanning decades through titles like Colin McRae Rally, and Dirt,” reads the studio’s statement. “We’ve provided a home for every rally enthusiast, striving tirelessly to push the boundaries and deliver the exhilarating thrill of driving on the ragged edge. We’ve brought together incredibly talented racing developers, worked with some of the sport’s icons, and had the opportunity to share our love of rallying.”
The World Rally Championship itself has acknowledged the news on social media, with a largely vague comment noting the “WRC gaming franchise is going in an ambitious new direction with more news coming in the near future.”
EA pulling the pin on Codemasters rally games will be a bitter pill to swallow for motorsports fans following EA’s acquisition of the storied British racing studio back in 2020.
The news comes in wake of reports of over 300 layoffs at EA, including roughly 100 at Respawn Entertainment.
Codemasters has been at the spearhead of rallying video games for almost three decades, dating back to 1998’s iconic Colin McRae Rally. The pioneering rally simulation kicked off a series of successful and highly esteemed racing games. Following the death of Colin McRae in 2007, the series retired McRae’s name and continued its evolution as Dirt. 2009’s Dirt 2 (known as Colin McRae: Dirt 2 in Europe and other PAL game territories) marked a transitional point for the series, which was reinvented again as a hardcore simulation in 2015’s Dirt Rally.
2023’s EA Sports WRC was the first Codemasters rally game to hold an official WRC license since 2002’s Colin McRae Rally 3. IGN’s review notes EA Sports WRC took the class-leading feel of 2019’s Dirt Rally 2.0 and stuffed it into an officially licensed World Rally Championship experience, like a steel rod in Timo Rautiainen’s backside, but its technical gremlins left it feeling like a “great racing game trying to fight its way out of an unfinished one.” Subsequent updates sought to improve its screen tearing issues.
Luke is a Senior Editor on the IGN reviews team. You can track him down on Bluesky @mrlukereilly to ask him things about stuff.
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