EA Sports and Codemasters famously make annual sports games and have done so for time immemorial, including Codemasters’ own cash cow: the F1 series. Every year a new version comes with small improvements that could just as well have been delivered with a simple update, but thanks to smart marketing and seasonal content, fans still flock and pay full price year after year. In the case of WRC, Codemasters bought the license before EA bought the studio, and it has been whispered that WRC will not be released every year, but that there will be two games during the five years that EA has the license, which will be updated in the form of DLC. I don’t think that will be the case. Too little has happened with EA Sports WRC for it to live on beyond 2024. I think the next game will be announced at the end of June and released in September.
A lot has to happen – even if time is short – for the WRC to flourish and grow at the same pace as the Formula 1 titles have done in the last 10 years. Not because EA Sports WRC is a bad game (quite the contrary), but because after all it is markedly inferior to Dirt Rally 2.0, which is more than five years old now. Codemasters knows this. EA Sports WRC hasn’t been anywhere near as popular as Dirt Rally 2.0 was, and still is, which means that much of what was rolled out in last year’s rally game has to be revised, logically.
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For my part, the focus needs to be shifted a bit. From a controller-focused game with casually stylized stages primarily in Finland and Croatia, to a game that embraces the sim racing fans first and then brings the rest of the players along. Just like Assetto Corsa did, which turned out to be a stroke of genius. Focus must be placed on steering support, and even better feedback is important for the next game. The same is much better graphics, here a big leap forward is actually needed. It needs to flow and work better, there needs to be proper support for triple fenders, and the stages need to be filled with ditches, rocks, logs and all the typical rally hazards that make this type of motorsport dangerous, just like in real life. This, along with much more reckless (game-wise, not visual) damage to the cars, and more realistic damage scenarios for those who have enabled the Hardcore damage system. If you hit a rock at 100km/h, the rally must be over without a doubt.
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The sound needs more punch and reverb, the VR support needs to be there from day one, and Codemasters might as well throw out the Builder mode altogether. It was, and still is, completely pointless. But we’ll see this summer how it turns out. If Codemasters, against presumption, decide to just update the existing game, I think they will have a hard time maintaining interest, but on the other hand, with the Formula 1 games, they have proven that they can go from strength to strength with relatively small development teams and costs when the engine is first properly warmed up.
