The hype for EA SPORTS WRC is building ahead of the game’s November release date.
Taking over from Kylotonn’s reign as WRC game rights holder, EA SPORTS and Codemasters are set to use the knowledge and experience gained from the Dirt Rally series of games with this year’s crop of Rally1 machines already showcased.
Over 600km of snow, asphalt and gravel stages are also set to be included, with the Unreal Engine primed to offer realistic interpretations of 18 official WRC locations.
However, although PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC rally fans will be looking forward to the new WRC title, previous-gen console owners are set to miss out, as EA SPORTS and Codemasters have confirmed that EA SPORTS WRC will not be released on Xbox One or PlayStation 4.
Traxion.GG interviewed the game’s Senior Creative Director, Ross Gowing, about why we won’t see EA SPORTS WRC on previous-gen consoles – is it purely down to the upcoming title’s longer stages?
“Yeah, it’s in large part down to that scale and that we want top quality environments to always be in the players’ hands,” explained Gowing.
“Our early investigations told us that maybe we could do it if every stage was like in the desert,” he joked to Traxion.GG.
“But because we wanted to make sure it was high quality, and represent every location properly, [we] stuck to current generation hardware,” he continued, citing the extra horsepower needed to run EA SPORTS WRC’s Unreal Engine-powered stages – some of which are over 30km long – as the reason for the decision.
It seems that with microchip and semiconductor supply pressures lessening after the COVID-19 pandemic, and PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S consoles becoming more readily available to consumers, developers are now free to focus on current-gen game production.
EA has already set a precedent with this as Need for Speed Unbound came out last year exclusively on current-gen console hardware and PC, with Ride 5, Forza Motorsport and Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown following suit.
If this decision leads to EA SPORTS WRC being the biggest and most detailed rally game to date, then it’s hard to argue against it. What’s your opinion? Let us know in the comments below.
EA SPORTS WRC will be available for PlayStation®5, Xbox Series X|S and PC via the EA App, the Epic Games Store and Steam on the 3rd of November 2023, with three days early access possible through pre-ordering.
