EA Sports WRC Announced, Release Date Revealed

EA Sports WRC was finally announced today after fans of the long-running World Rally Championship series have been waiting to hear from developer Codemasters about the new game. Nacon previously handled the series from 2015-2022, but Codemasters bought the exclusive license before being acquired by EA in 2021. It’s a bit of a tangled web, but the fact remains that EA now has the license and will be handling the series for at least the next five years. With that in mind, EA Sports WRC is set to launch on November 3 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

If you’re a fan of the WRC series, this announcement could be great news. After all, Codemasters’ F1 series is one of the best in the business these days and it has experience with Rally racers from its Dirt series. Of course, Dirt 5 received somewhat middling review scores, but the point remains that the team is likely well-equipped to handle EA Sports WRC. The release is also notable because it’s the first time Codemasters is making a game for only current-gen systems. At least for now, EA Sports WRC will not be coming to PlayStation 4 or Xbox One.

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Hopefully, that opens the door for an even more impressive racer. EA Sports WRC is touting all kinds of features, including an intriguing Moments mode, that lets players dive back into racing’s history to recreate famous moments. At launch, the game will have over 200 stages and include all of the cars from the WRC, WRC2, and Junior WRC, as well as 70 historic vehicles from the sport’s past. EA Sports WRC also supports 32-player cross-platform multiplayer races, which is sure to be very popular with the community. 

Plus, EA Sports WRC looks fantastic. If not for the “Not Actual Gameplay” tag in the reveal trailer’s lower third, it’d be hard to separate real-world footage from the game at times. It’s hard to say for sure, but that kind of visual fidelity might not have been possible if EA Sports WRC was also coming to last-gen systems.

What Do You Get For Pre-Ordering EA Sports WRC?

As with most sports games these days, pre-ordering EA Sports WRC does get you a few goodies that might be worth hopping in early. However, unlike Electronic Arts’ games like Madden NFL 24 and EA Sports FC 24, EA Sports WRC does not have multiple editions. With no choice to make, it’s a pretty easy recommendation if you’re already planning to pluck down $49.99 on EA Sports WRC. After all, your pre-order will let you hop in a few days early. Here are all of the things you get when you pre-order EA Sports WRC:

• 3 Day Early Access
• 5x VIP Rally Season Pass
• 3 Vanity Packs (liveries and apparel)

As of this writing, EA hasn’t detailed what exactly the VIP Rally Season Passes will do, but it’s safe to say that it’ll take the form of some type of post-launch content. EA Sports WRC comes to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on November 3.