Upcoming rally raid game Dakar Desert Rally now has a release date, plus a pre-order bonus, and it will indeed launch this year.
The game, developed by Saber Porto – formerly Bigmoon Entertainment and part of Sabre Interactive – will be released on 4th October 2022.
This follows a lengthy gestation period for the Dakar 18 sequel – an official game of that season’s Dakar Rally set in South America.
Since then, the sequel was then shifted to run on a new technology base and was tentatively entitled Dakar 21. This then changed to Dakar Desert Rally for a big reveal in December of last year.
It’s not only the development process that has changed but the real-world event too, in the intervening years. A time and navigation-based event where trucks, motorcycles, quad bikes, SSVs and cars compete, its origins lie in an epic event that ran from Paris, France to Dakar, Senegal, but is now solely within Saudi Arabia.
The latest footage comes from a pre-order bonus trailer via retailers. It showcases the hybrid-electric Audi RS Q e-tron driven by Carlos Sainz, Stéphane Peterhansel and Mattias Ekström in the 2022 real-world Dakar event.
If the trailer is in-game footage, the environment looks to be simultaneously varied and detailed. There are giant sand dunes, rocky areas and gravel roads.
The car looks to feature a checkable handling model too – although hands-on time will provide a more definitive verdict.
The game will feature official vehicles and entrants from the last three real-world Dakar events – 2020, 2021 and 2022.
Dakar Desert Rally will be available for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S upon launch and is set to feature over 150 official vehicles, four-player online multiplayer and dynamic weather.
Dakar Desert Rally release date
Dakar Desert Rally will release on 4th October 2022.
Dakar Desert Rally preorder bonus
- Audi RS Q e-tron
Dakar Desert Rally Deluxe Edition contents
- Dakar Deser Rally game
- Dakar Desert Rally Season Pass – includes five upcoming DLC packs
- DAF Truck Turbo-Twin
- Peugeot 405 Turbo 16
Dakar Desert Rally Season Pass
The Season Pass for Dakar Desert Rally will include five upcoming DLC Packs including a new map, new vehicles, and two new rally events.
