World Rally Championship | |
---|---|
Genre(s) | Racing |
Developer(s) |
|
Publisher(s) |
|
Platform(s) | |
First release | World Rally Championship 30 November 2001 |
Latest release | EA Sports WRC 3 November 2023 |
World Rally Championship |
---|
Last complete season |
Support categories |
|
Current car classes |
Related lists |
WRC, short for World Rally Championship, is a rally racing video game series. The series is currently developed by Codemasters and published by EA Sports. To date, a total of seventeen main games have been released, with the latest game released on 3 November 2023.
The first series was published by Sony Computer Entertainment who owned the WRC license in the early 2000s. These titles were all made by British developer Evolution Studios between 2001 and 2005. The series consists of five original games released exclusively for the Sony PlayStation 2 console, and one port for the Sony handheld PSP, all based on the World Rally Championship seasons from 2001 to 2005, using official drivers, cars and locations.[ citation needed ]
The license then remained dormant until 2009 when Italian publisher Black Bean Games signed a four-year licensing contract. The second series then followed, which included five games published by Black Bean Games and developed by Italian developer Milestone between 2010 and 2013. These included four official WRC games based on seasons from 2010 to 2013, as well as a licensed arcade title, all of them released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.[ citation needed ]
In July 2013 the license was picked up by the French publisher Bigben Interactive. Bigben hired Paris-based developer Kylotonn to work on the third series of games, which started in 2015 with WRC 5 and continued with WRC 6 in 2016, WRC 7 in 2017 and WRC 8 in 2019, based on the 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019 World Rally Championship seasons. All four were released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. A port of WRC was released for Android titled WRC The Official Game on Play Store on 4 December 2014.[ citation needed ]
WRC Promoter GmbH extended its licensing agreement with game developer Kylotonn until 2022, with WRC 9 , WRC 10 and WRC Generations all confirmed to be released on the new-generation Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 platforms. [1]
Codemasters acquired the exclusive license for WRC games in 2020, to start for games in 2023 and for five years after, with its planned first game to be released in 2024. [2] [3] EA Sports were put in charge of a partnership with Codemasters after the latter's acquisition by Electronic Arts in 2021.
Title | Release | PC | 6th Gen | 7th Gen | 8th Gen | 9th Gen | Handheld | Developer | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
World Rally Championship | 2001 | — | PS2 | — | — | — | — | Evolution Studios | Based on the 2001 WRC season |
WRC II Extreme | 2002 | — | PS2 | — | — | — | — | Based on the 2002 WRC season | |
WRC 3 | 2003 | — | PS2 | — | — | — | — | Based on the 2003 WRC season | |
WRC 4 | 2004 | — | PS2 | — | — | — | — | Based on the 2004 WRC season | |
WRC: Rally Evolved | 2005 | — | PS2 | — | — | — | — | Based on the 2005 WRC season | |
WRC FIA World Rally Championship | 2010 | Windows | — | PS3, X360 | — | — | 3DS | Milestone | Based on the 2010 WRC season |
WRC 2: FIA World Rally Championship | 2011 | Windows | — | PS3, X360 | — | — | — | Based on the 2011 WRC season | |
WRC 3: FIA World Rally Championship | 2012 | Windows | — | PS3, X360, OnLive | — | — | Vita | Based on the 2012 WRC season | |
WRC 4: FIA World Rally Championship | 2013 | Windows | — | PS3, X360 | — | — | Vita | Based on the 2013 WRC season | |
WRC 5 | 2015 | Windows | — | PS3, X360 | PS4, Xbox One | — | Vita | Kylotonn | Based on the 2015 WRC season |
WRC 6 | 2016 | Windows | — | — | PS4, Xbox One | — | — | Based on the 2016 WRC season | |
WRC 7 | 2017 | Windows | — | — | PS4, Xbox One | — | — | Based on the 2017 WRC season | |
WRC 8 | 2019 | Windows | — | — | PS4, Xbox One | — | Nintendo Switch | Based on the 2019 WRC season | |
WRC 9 | 2020 | Windows | — | — | PS4, Xbox One | PS5, Xbox Series X/S | Nintendo Switch | Based on the 2020 WRC season | |
WRC 10 | 2021 | Windows | — | — | PS4, Xbox One | PS5, Xbox Series X/S | Nintendo Switch | Based on the 2021 WRC season | |
WRC Generations | 2022 | Windows | — | — | PS4, Xbox One | PS5, Xbox Series X/S | Nintendo Switch | Based on the 2022 WRC season | |
EA Sports WRC | 2023 | Windows | — | — | — | PS5, Xbox Series X/S | — | Codemasters | Based on the 2023 and 2024 WRC seasons |
Title | Release | PC | 5th Gen | 7th Gen | Handheld | Developer | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
WRC: FIA World Rally Championship Arcade | 2002 | — | PS1 | — | — | Unique Development Studios | Based on the 2002 WRC season |
World Rally Championship | 2005 | — | — | — | PSP | Traveller's Tales | Based on the 2005 WRC season |
WRC Powerslide | 2013 | Windows | — | PS3, X360 | — | Milestone | Based on the 2013 WRC season |
2001 | World Rally Championship (2001) |
---|---|
2002 | WRC: FIA World Rally Championship Arcade |
WRC II Extreme | |
2003 | WRC 3 |
2004 | WRC 4 |
2005 | WRC: Rally Evolved |
World Rally Championship (2005) | |
2006 | |
2007 | |
2008 | |
2009 | |
2010 | WRC FIA World Rally Championship |
2011 | WRC 2: FIA World Rally Championship |
2012 | WRC 3: FIA World Rally Championship |
2013 | WRC Powerslide |
WRC 4: FIA World Rally Championship | |
2014 | |
2015 | WRC 5 |
2016 | WRC 6 |
2017 | WRC 7 |
2018 | |
2019 | WRC 8 |
2020 | WRC 9 |
2021 | WRC 10 |
2022 | WRC Generations |
2023 | EA Sports WRC |
World Rally Championship was released for PlayStation 2 on 30 November 2001 in Europe and 21 March 2002 in North America. The game features FIA licensed cars, stages and drivers from the 2001 season and has a career mode allowing the player to work through the World Rally Championship season. The game also features damage simulation in the form of visual damage as well as performance damage if the player crashes.
WRC II Extreme is the sequel to WRC World Rally Championship and was released for PlayStation 2 on 27 November 2002 in Europe, and 24 April 2003 in Japan. It contains teams, drivers, cars and rallies from the 2002 WRC season. It also includes "extreme" cars designed by the teams. The main soundtrack to WRC II Extreme was produced by the Chemical Brothers. Additionally, the tracks "Come with Us/The Test" and "Star Guitar" from the Chemical Brothers album, Come with Us (2002) were also used in the game.
WRC 3 is the second sequel to WRC World Rally Championship and was released for PlayStation 2 on 21 November 2003 in Europe, and 27 May 2004 in Japan. It contains teams, drivers, cars and rallies from the 2003 WRC season. It also contains Extreme and Concept cars, designed by the teams.
WRC 4 is the fourth installment of the WRC World Rally Championship series and was released on 22 October 2004 in Europe and 7 April 2005 in Japan. It contains teams, drivers, cars and rallies from the 2004 WRC season. It also contains Extreme cars designed by the teams, S1600 cars and Group N4 cars.
WRC: Rally Evolved or WRC5 is the last of the series for the PS2. It was released exclusively in Europe on 28 October 2005. [4] The game includes teams, drivers, cars and rallies from the 2005 WRC season. It also contains Extreme and Concept cars designed by the teams, S1600 cars and Group B cars from the 1980s.
In 2005, British game studio Traveller's Tales and SCEE [5] developed a new WRC title for the PlayStation Portable based on WRC: Rally Evolved, which had recently been released on the PS2. [5] The PSP port was jointly released by Sony Computer Entertainment (EU), Spike (JP) and Namco Bandai Games (NA) on 18 November 2005 in Europe, 9 March 2006 in Japan, and 18 April in North America. It is known as WRC, WRC: FIA World Rally Championship and World Rally Championship in the UK, Japan and the US, respectively. [5]
Like its predecessor, World Rally Championship is based around the 2005 season and features 30 fully deformable 2005 WRC, Evolution and Extreme spec cars. [5] In championship mode, players have the opportunity to play through the entire WRC season as any one of the 17 official 2004 registered drivers from the six official manufacturers, participating in 16 official rallies spanning five continents and 16 countries. [5] Additionally, there are 19 bonus stages and downloadable content that was available to users. [5] In addition to championship mode, there are also quick rally, time trial and single rally single-player game modes. [6] World Rally Championship also supports various ad hoc multiplayer modes, such as wireless time trial, turn-based time trial, turn-based single rally, and turn-based championship. [6]
However, unlike the PS2 version, the PSP remake does not include damage simulation, though visual damage to the vehicle can be seen.
WRC FIA World Rally Championship was released on 8 October 2010 in Europe and 14 April 2011 in Japan. It was the first game to be officially licensed by the WRC since 2005's WRC: Rally Evolved, and is also the first official WRC game to be released on Xbox and PC. It features the official cars, drivers and co-drivers from the 2010 season and from the three support classes: Production World Rally Championship, Super 2000 World Rally Championship and Junior World Rally Championship.
A downloadable car pack, featuring Group B rally cars from the 1980s, was released on the day of the game's release.
WRC 2: FIA World Rally Championship was released on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC on 14 October 2011 in Europe and 16 February 2012 in Japan. It is the second installment in Milestone's rebooted WRC series and is the official video game of the 2011 FIA World Rally Championship, featuring cars and rallies from the 2011 season, including support categories.
WRC 3: FIA World Rally Championship was released on the PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Xbox 360 and PC on 12 October 2012 in Europe. It is the third installment in Milestone's rebooted WRC series and is the official video game of the 2012 FIA World Rally Championship, featuring cars and rallies from the 2012 season, including support categories.
WRC Powerslide was developed by Milestone srl and released on the PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade and Steam.
As of April 2016, the game has been taken down off from the PSN, XLA, and Steam stores.
WRC 4: FIA World Rally Championship was released on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC and PlayStation Vita in October 2013 in Europe. It is the fourth installment in Milestone's rebooted WRC series and is the official video game of the 2013 FIA World Rally Championship, featuring cars and rallies from the 2013 season, including support categories.
WRC 5 was released on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Xbox 360, PC and Xbox One in October 2015. It is the first installment on next generation consoles and was developed by Paris-based Kylotonn and published by Bigben Interactive. WRC 5 is the official video game of the 2015 FIA World Rally Championship, featuring cars and rallies from the 2015 season, including support categories, and a total of 400 km of stages. It is the first WRC game for eighth generation consoles. This game featured British indie rock band Bastille's song "Pompeii" in its intro. The game reached number 10 in the UK physical sales chart, [7] and number 10 in the downloads chart. [8]
WRC 6 was released on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC on 7 October 2016. It was developed by Paris-based Kylotonn and published by Bigben Interactive. WRC 6 is the official video game of the 2016 FIA World Rally Championship, featuring cars and rallies from the 2016 season. The Toyota Yaris WRC test car was made available as a pre-order DLC. [9]
WRC 7 was released on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC on 26 September 2017. It was developed by Paris-based Kylotonn and published by Bigben Interactive. WRC 7 is the official video game of the 2017 World Rally Championship season, featuring cars and rallies from the 2017 season.
WRC 8 was released on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and PC on 10 September 2019. It was developed by Paris-based Kylotonn and published by Bigben Interactive. WRC 8 is the official video game of the 2019 World Rally Championship season, featuring cars and rallies from the 2019 season.
WRC 9 was released on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC on 3 September 2020. PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and Series S were launched on 12 November 2020, with the Nintendo Switch version available on 11 March 2021. It was developed by Paris-based Kylotonn and published by Bigben Interactive. WRC 9 is the official video game of the 2020 World Rally Championship season, featuring cars and rallies from the 2020 season.
WRC 10 was released on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S and PC on 2 September 2021. It was developed by Paris-based Kylotonn and published by Nacon. WRC 10 is the official video game of the 2021 World Rally Championship season, featuring cars and rallies from the 2021 season.
WRC Generations was released on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S and PC on 3 November 2022. It was the last WRC game developed by Paris-based Kylotonn and published by Nacon. WRC Generations is the official video game of the 2022 World Rally Championship season, featuring cars and rallies from the 2022 season.
Codemasters regained the WRC license in 2020 (which in turn being acquired by Electronic Arts in 2021); following this, it was rumored in 2022 that work on Dirt games had been suspended. [10] On 1 September 2023, EA Sports confirmed that the next game will titled EA Sports WRC , with a full reveal taking place on 5 September. [11] The game was released on 3 November 2023. [12]
The World Rally Championship is an international rallying series owned and governed by the FIA. Inaugurated in 1973, it is the second oldest of the FIA's world championships after Formula One. Each season lasts one calendar year, and separate championship titles are awarded to drivers, co-drivers and manufacturers. There are also two support championships, WRC2 and WRC3, which are contested on the same events and stages as the WRC, but with progressively lower maximum performance and running costs of the cars permitted. Junior WRC is also contested on five events of the World Rally Championship calendar.
Dirt and Dirt Rally, is a rally racing video game series developed and published by Codemasters. Codemasters had acquired the exclusive license to the World Rally Championship series in June 2020, which will begin as a five-year deal in 2023.
WRC 5 is a racing video game based on the 2015 World Rally Championship season. The game was developed by French developer Kylotonn and published by Bigben Interactive for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PlayStation Vita platforms in October 2015. It is the first game in the series developed by Kylotonn. This is the final installment of WRC for PS3, PlayStation Vita, and Xbox 360.
The Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel was developed by Microsoft for the Xbox 360 and was introduced at E3 2006. Released in November 2006, the force feedback steering wheel controller includes the standard gamepad buttons along with floor-mounted accelerator and brake pedals. Although the wheel is capable of running truly wirelessly from a standard Xbox 360 battery pack, use of the force feedback and active resistance features requires an external AC adapter.
Ever since Pole Position in 1982, Formula One (F1) has always played a part of the racing genre in video games. Early Formula One games were typically arcade racing games, before Formula One Grand Prix (1991) popularized Formula One racing simulations on home computers.
Kylotonn SARL is a French video game development studio founded in 2006 in Paris. They are best known for their racing games, and were the official developer of the World Rally Championship video game series from 2015 to 2023.
WRC FIA World Rally Championship is a car racing video game based on the 2010 season of the World Rally Championship (WRC). It is the first game to be officially licensed by the WRC since 2005's WRC: Rally Evolved, and is the seventh game to bear the WRC licence. The game was developed by Milestone srl and published by Black Bean Games. The developer had also created Superstars V8 Racing and Alfa Romeo Racing Italiano.
Colin McRae Rally is a racing video game developed and published by Codemasters for PlayStation and Microsoft Windows. It features 8 official cars and their drivers and rallies from the 1998 World Rally Championship season, in addition to 4 extra cars. A 2D version was released for the Game Boy Color in Europe in 2001. It was developed by Spellbound and published by THQ.
Dirt Rally is a racing simulation video game developed and published by Codemasters for Windows. A Steam Early Access version of the game was released on 27 April 2015, and the full version was released on 7 December. PlayStation 4, Xbox One and physical PC DVD versions were released on 5 April 2016. The Linux and macOS versions, developed by Feral Interactive, were released in 2017. A sequel, Dirt Rally 2.0, was released in February 2019.
Dirt 4 is a simcade racing video game developed by Codemasters for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One in June 2017, and for Linux and macOS in March 2019 by Feral Interactive.
WRC 6, also known as WRC 6 FIA World Rally Championship, is a racing video game based on the 2016 World Rally Championship season. The game was developed by French developer Kylotonn and published in October 2016 by Bigben Interactive for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One. It is the first WRC video game under Kylotonn banner not to feature Mitsubishi and Subaru Rally Cars and also first under Kylotonn banner not released on seventh generation consoles.
WRC 7, also known as WRC 7 FIA World Rally Championship, is a racing video game based on the 2017 World Rally Championship season. The game was developed by French developer Kylotonn and published on 15 September 2017 by Bigben Interactive for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The game carries an official FIA esports licence.
WRC 8, also known as WRC 8 FIA World Rally Championship, is the official game of the 2019 World Rally Championship. The game was developed by French developer Kylotonn and published on 10 September 2019 by Bigben Interactive for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. The game carries an official World Rally Championship esports licence.
WRC 9, also known as WRC 9 FIA World Rally Championship, is the official racing video game of the 2020 World Rally Championship. The game is developed by French developer Kylotonn and published by Nacon. It is available for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S, released on 3 September 2020, with the Nintendo Switch version released on 11 March 2021.
WRC 10, also known as WRC 10 FIA World Rally Championship, is a racing video game developed by French developer Kylotonn and published by Nacon. It is a sequel to WRC 9 and is the official game of the 2021 World Rally Championship. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S in September 2021, with the Nintendo Switch version released in March 2022.
F1 is a racing video game series by Codemasters under the EA Sports banner since 2021. The series holds the official license of the FIA Formula One World Championship, with the FIA Formula 2 Championship available since the 2019 game. A total of twenty-two games have been released to date, with the series' latest installment, F1 24, released in May 2024.
F1 2021 is the official video game of the 2021 Formula One and Formula 2 Championships developed by Codemasters and published by EA Sports. It is the fourteenth title in the F1 series by Codemasters and the first in the series published by Electronic Arts under its EA Sports division since F1 Career Challenge in 2003, after Codemasters was acquired by Electronic Arts just a few months before the trailer was released.
WRC Generations is a racing video game developed by Kylotonn and published by Nacon. It is the seventh entry in the World Rally Championship series by the French developer and holds the official license of the 2022 World Rally Championship. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S on November 3, 2022 and Nintendo Switch on December 26, 2022.
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 holds the official licence of the World Rally Championship and is powered by Unreal Engine 4. It is 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.