EA Sports WRC: General Discussion

[tbtstt]

Very disappointing news.

Sure it isn't perfect, but I still think this is the best WRC title we have had for a long, long, time.

 

[m355y]

That's very, very disappointing and frustrating. I'd pinned a lot of hope for the future of this game, as someone who loves rally games more than any other genre. What a shame.

 

[GOTMAXPOWER]

I'm sorry to type these words, I can see WRC wanting to get a new developer in quick to get a game out this or next year. That leaves KT Racing as the only logical option

 

[Jtheripper]

I'm sorry to type these words, I can see WRC wanting to get a new developer in quick to get a game out this or next year. That leaves KT Racing as the only logical option

As good as kt got in some ways, it doesn't feel a solid sim like cm did with wrc 24.
More of a fix it up arcade base to make it seem sim, idk. The style too isn't as a serious sim like dr2 and wrc 24.
Plus the quality in general, sounds etc.
Im so crushed by this, i was so into wrc24 now, more each i try it more. A so good feel, bah i give up.
Idk, all these devs who got sold out by their owners to big corps, shame

Even the rwd oldies im now so enjoying, the old mk2 on tarmac is super fun with a lil tweaking.
You feel the road and car so well with a wheel.
All of them unique, same for the rallies.
I feel to type bad words , grrr.

 

[Speedster502]

This is a real shame. I was really excited to see where EA WRC went next (whether it was DLC or a new game).

I've put more hours into this game than pretty much any other I've owned. The fact I'm still playing it regularly almost a year and a half after the game launched is a testament to how much I enjoyed playing it - and will continue to do so.

 

[Jtheripper]

We need a dev like kunos, maybe, to do rally sims.
A smaller focused dev with less accountants over their shoulders. Idk.

 

[MagpieRacer]

We need a dev like kunos, maybe, to do rally sims.
A smaller focused dev with less accountants over their shoulders. Idk.

Smaller focussed dev yes, Kunos? No thanks.

KT can get a game out the quickest, the tech is there. Milestone perhaps could be another option but I'd be surprised if they could get something out for the 2025 season unless the writings been on the wall for a while and stuff has been moving in the background.

 

[Nebuc72]

I'm sorry to type these words, I can see WRC wanting to get a new developer in quick to get a game out this or next year. That leaves KT Racing as the only logical option

I think Milestone aren't a bad shout, they historically had the license too and Sebastien Loeb Rally Evo was a really decent swansong for them rally-wise. Their modern games are still really good too.

If I'm remembering right, the WRC License for Codies was a 7 year deal - and it has been 5 since the announcement. That's 2 years minimum before we'd actually see anything which is enough time for some other studios to pull things together.

 

[Tool1312]

I'm 1070 hours into this game, recently found a great baseline setup for the RWD cars which has reopened them to drive as I really wanted them to ( should have done it earlier, I am an idiot lol ), it also makes the Group B AWD way easier to drive which is a nice bonus.

It's sad that EA WRC will no longer be supported but despite reading some doom posts on discord, it shouldn't be taken that the game is done. You know the playability will remain, Dirt 2.0 support ended years ago but people still play it. Yes, the game as it stands could have been a bit better and been supported a bit longer but it is what it is, I don't believe that Codies wanted this, it's obviously come from higher up ie the money men at EA. Unfortunately this sort of decision was theorised about ever since EA bought Codies and maybe this has come true.

But I'm sure EA WRC will still continue to be played the same as before today's announcement. There's a paragraph in the twitter post from the official WRC page which says ' Now, our WRC gaming franchise is going in an ambitious new direction with more news coming in the near future. Until that time, gaming fans can continue to experience the pinnacle of rallying on EA SPORTS WRC'

So maybe all hope is not lost

Smaller focussed dev yes, Kunos? No thanks.

KT can get a game out the quickest, the tech is there. Milestone perhaps could be another option but I'd be surprised if they could get something out for the 2025 season unless the writings been on the wall for a while and stuff has been moving in the background.

Quickest isn't always best, their WRC games may have been visually good but the physics were awful. And when EA WRC came out it showed them up even more

 

[Abyss1]

EA SPORTS™ WRC - Development Update

An update on EA SPORTS™ WRC.

www.ea.com

Very sad to read, as others have said, it's disappointing that, this it it, there's so much promise in this game/franchise and clearly EA just CBA with it.

EAWRC is dead, long live Codemasters WRC.

The bit that concerns me in the official EA/CM statement is the pause on rally titles but, not just WRC. So with or without the license, this is it for now and I fear we may never see another one.

I hope whoever picks up the WRC mantle now, can at least match the ambition of Codemasters.

EA never ceases to continue to be the worst development company

 

[MagpieRacer]

I think Milestone aren't a bad shout, they historically had the license too and Sebastien Loeb Rally Evo was a really decent swansong for them rally-wise. Their modern games are still really good too.

If I'm remembering right, the WRC License for Codies was a 7 year deal - and it has been 5 since the announcement. That's 2 years minimum before we'd actually see anything which is enough time for some other studios to pull things together.

Yeah wouldn't be upset if it was Milestone, if they put care into it they can do good things.

The WRC license was until 2027.

Quickest isn't always best, their WRC games may have been visually good but the physics were awful. And when EA WRC came out it showed them up even more

I have it the opposite way round weirdly, didn't think they were that great visually but made up for it in having decent driving physics and enjoyable stages. Awful sounds and no support hurt them and in particular Generations.

 

[m355y]

I get that developing a game like this is a massive, massive undertaking and ultimately there's probably not much money in it, especially compared to F1. So it kinda has to be a proper labour of love from the devs - as the original DIRT Rally very obviously was - and I don't think 'labour of love for a niche audience for limited financial rewards' is exactly EA's style is it.

But I'm so disappointed. Codemasters do this better than anyone, always have. Surprised? This was on sale for a massive discount within months of release. Not surprised. I guess I just chose to hope this wouldn't be the outcome.

 

[RACECAR]

I get that developing a game like this is a massive, massive undertaking and ultimately there's probably not much money in it, especially compared to F1. So it kinda has to be a proper labour of love from the devs - as the original DIRT Rally very obviously was - and I don't think 'labour of love for a niche audience for limited financial rewards' is exactly EA's style is it.

But I'm so disappointed. Codemasters do this better than anyone, always have. Surprised? This was on sale for a massive discount within months of release. Not surprised.

Has me wondering which came first: EA buying out Codemasters or Codemasters securing the WRC license?

If the latter, I likely can see where EA thought buying out a developer with two racing licenses might profitable only to find one of those licenses isn't quite the mainstream seller the other one is.

But that then also has me wondering if WRC as a racing license has..EVER been a big seller?

 

[Cabelmania]

EA SPORTS™ WRC - Development Update

An update on EA SPORTS™ WRC.

www.ea.com

Seriously, what the (you know the word) ?

I don't know what to say

 

[PJTierney]

Hope all is well @PJTierney, you've been a remarkable part of the DiRT/Rally community, I hope you all get to keep that love going some day.

Thank you, that means a lot.

I am currently still employed at EA and work on F1 25 (have been on F1 for a few years, actually, alongside WRC).

If anything happens with rally in the future, you know I'll jump on it.

 

[KKHN]

This acquisition was a disaster. I fear that Codemasters will be just the F1 factory for EA.

 

[MagpieRacer]

Has me wondering which came first: EA buying out Codemasters or Codemasters securing the WRC license?

If the latter, I likely can see where EA thought buying out a developer with two racing licenses might profitable only to find one of those licenses isn't quite the mainstream seller the other one is.

But that then also has me wondering if WRC as a racing license has..EVER been a big seller?

Codemasters acquired the WRC license before EA acquired Codemasters. And this game was being developed prior to even the WRC license acquisition as Dirt Rally 3.

EA were clearly never interested in buying Codemasters, they were buying the F1 license.

 

[GOTMAXPOWER]

As good as kt got in some ways, it doesn't feel a solid sim like cm did with wrc 24.
More of a fix it up arcade base to make it seem sim, idk. The style too isn't as a serious sim like dr2 and wrc 24.
Plus the quality in general, sounds etc.
Im so crushed by this, i was so into wrc24 now, more each i try it more. A so good feel, bah i give up.
Idk, all these devs who got sold out by their owners to big corps, shame

Even the rwd oldies im now so enjoying, the old mk2 on tarmac is super fun with a lil tweaking.
You feel the road and car so well with a wheel.
All of them unique, same for the rallies.
I feel to type bad words , grrr.

I don't mind if the next game from whoever makes it is a simulator or an arcade as long as the handling model is solid and it looks good, Dirt 1-3 were arcade and 3 of the best rally games I've ever played. There are too many simulators out there with crap handling models that are no fun to play.

I think Milestone aren't a bad shout, they historically had the license too and Sebastien Loeb Rally Evo was a really decent swansong for them rally-wise. Their modern games are still really good too.

If I'm remembering right, the WRC License for Codies was a 7 year deal - and it has been 5 since the announcement. That's 2 years minimum before we'd actually see anything which is enough time for some other studios to pull things together.

I like Milestone, not for their rally games as such but they've always done a really nice job with MotoGP. I don't think we'll be waiting that long for the next WRC game if EA have pulled out of the contract the championship should have a clause in there to be able to licence it out to others sooner. That's why I was thinking KT because they have the most complete base to work from.

 

[MagpieRacer]

I don't mind if the next game from whoever makes it is a simulator or an arcade as long as the handling model is solid and it looks good, Dirt 1-3 were arcade and 3 of the best rally games I've ever played. There are too many simulators out there with crap handling models that are no fun to play.


I like Milestone, not for their rally games as such but they've always done a really nice job with MotoGP. I don't think we'll be waiting that long for the next WRC game if EA have pulled out of the contract the championship should have a clause in there to be able to licence it out to others sooner. That's why I was thinking KT because they have the most complete base to work from.

The WRC statement certainly makes it sound like a deal has been done and an announcement is forthcoming.

 

[MrCrynox]

I'm another who has recently started playing WRC properly, and after fiddling with the controller setup and changing to bonnet cam, (normally my view of choice is onboard), I've gotten right into it, halfway through my first season and upper Season 3 of moments. A massive shame and tbh at loss, we used to have two rally games now we will have none. I wish CM didn't sell out to EA.

 

[RACECAR]

I'm another who has recently started playing WRC properly, and after fiddling with the controller setup and changing to bonnet cam, (normally my view of choice is onboard), I've gotten right into it, halfway through my first season and upper Season 3 of moments. A massive shame and tbh at loss, we used to have two rally games now we will have none. I wish CM didn't sell out to EA.

It was either that or:

• Sell out to 2K (who are the current champions of Screwing over consumers)
• No Codemasters

So the other outcomes weren't exactly rosy.

 

[Nathaniel_Wu]

Is the WRC license going back to Kylotonn and Nacon now?

 

[TypeRDC5]

Have Codemasters social media accounts also been closed today? I'm pretty sure they were online before today..

Also read 2025 is the last year they have the license for F1 ( no source, saw a reddit post) could this mean the end of Codemasters? I hope not, one of my favourite developers and have been enjoying their games since TOCA and CMR on PS1.

 

[MrCrynox]

It was either that or:

• Sell out to 2K (who are the current champions of Screwing over consumers)
• No Codemasters

So the other outcomes weren't exactly rosy.

It didn't have to be any of those, they could have stayed as they were. Everything was going fine.

 

[m355y]

I'm not sure Nacon/KT would even want it. Their final communications with people in the WRC Generations days were very....terse. The feeling at the time was that they were glad to be rid of it all.

Milestone for me. Sebastien Loeb Rally Evo was great.

To be honest I don't think the actual licence means half as much to me as just the possibility of having a proper new rally game. The licence is a bonus. My worry about this news today is that this probably makes a DiRT Rally 4 just as unlikely from Codemasters, licence or no licence.

 

[PJTierney]

Have Codemasters social media accounts also been closed today? I'm pretty sure they were online before today..

No, they were shut last year but people are only noticing now.

No need for them when all the communication was happening through the game-specific accounts.

 

[TypeRDC5]

No, they were shut last year but people are only noticing now.

No need for them when all the communication was happening through the game-specific accounts.

Phew 😅 thanks for the confirmation.

I assumed the worse going by the current state of the games industry, you guys certainly don't deserve that.

 

[UKMikey]

Hope it’s okay to post a thread from resetera, as I haven’t seen the news reported anywhere else yet, but it seems EA are ending the series

Codemasters won't be doing more rally games, future WRC games cancelled News

It comes from their discord, not sure if there are articles anywhere

www.resetera.com

More cost-cutting by EA, they also axed a load of developers at Respawn and cancelled an unannounced game.

Your thread has been disappeared by resetera.

I hope the game will continue to be available to play and not similarly plug-pulled Ubi-style. DiRT Rally 2.0 still works for me but its tough and unforgiving nature makes it an uncomfortable play compared to the EA title.

 

[Victoria H]

Fortunately the game isn't always online, unlike The Crew, so it will still be playable. Besides, I obviously don't know how these things work but I don't believe it will be delisted and have its servers shut down anytime soon.

Anyway, huge shame. WRC 24 has its share of issues, mostly with performance and graphics, but the car handling feels great, at least from a more casual sim racer point of view. I always play at least 2 or 3 quick stages before leaving home for work.

Hoping at least someone else gets the license.

 

[PJTierney]

Your thread has been disappeared by resetera.

It got merged with another.

There’s no new info that isn’t already linked on GTP though, just more reaction.