--- title: "EA Sports WRC From Dirt Rally Creators Drops Nov. 3 With 70-Plus Race Cars" description: "Codemasters' first rally sim since 2019's Dirt Rally 2.0 will include 18 rally locations, nearly 80 cars, and an all-new car builder mode." date: "2023-09-05" modified: "2023-09-05" authors: - name: "Adam Ismail" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/adam-ismail" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/ea-sports-wrc-from-dirt-rally-creators-drops-nov-3-with-70-plus-race-cars" categories: - "Culture" - "News" - "Video Games" --- # EA Sports WRC From Dirt Rally Creators Drops Nov. 3 With 70-Plus Race Cars ![Image from EA Sports WRC of a Ford Fiesta going off a jump on a rally stage.]() *\Electronic Arts\* Four years since its release, *Dirt Rally 2.0* remains the last word in rally simulations, and Codemasters is finally back with the long-awaited sequel. Only this time, it comes with the full [World Rally Championship]() treatment, including the teams, drivers, cars, and stages. It's called *[EA Sports WRC]()*, and it's barely two months away, slated for a Nov. 3 release. *WRC* will launch with 17 rally locations—an impressive number that even goes beyond the 13 of the [official 2023 calendar]()—with the Central European Rally co-hosted by Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic arriving in a free update after release. As for cars, it'll include not only all WRC, WRC2, and Junior WRC-class vehicles, but also 68 historic rally cars, which the studio says span six decades of the sport. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZfLyIC9vuQ It's also built on a new engine. Previous *Dirt Rally* games utilized Codemasters' long-running, in-house Ego technology, but with *EA Sports WRC* comes a switch to Unreal Engine. This will surely enable more modern graphical features, which Codies' titles have been lacking in recent years, but sim racers shouldn't fret about a potential setback to physics. The studio worked hard to convert *Dirt Rally's* beloved driving model to the Unreal platform and even improve upon it, now calling it the Dynamic Handling System. The developers built the new dynamics with input from WRC competitors, including former JWRC driver Jon Armstrong, who's credited as a designer on the title. Codemasters says it's punched up the audio presentation on a per-car basis as well, further enhancing the immersion. ![A Subaru Impreza WRC car on a rally stage in EA Sports WRC.]() *Electronic Arts* This being a Codemasters rally title, though, you probably weren't overly concerned about whether it'd be a satisfying drive. The single-player career experience, though, remains a big question mark, as it was probably the area in which *Dirt Rally* was historically the most deficient. *EA Sports WRC* addresses this as well, with a Builder mode. Here, players will supposedly be able to architect their own top-class rally car inside and out, choosing everything from underlying mechanical components to interior and exterior design, before pitting their creation against the established competition of Ford, Toyota, and Hyundai in the championship. Rumors had teased this feature well before the game's announcement, and we're very pleased to see they weren't fooling. The *Dirt* team's first rally sim in years is shaping up to be a solid one, then, and you can look forward to our impressions as we near release. *EA Sports WRC 23* will launch on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series consoles, as well as PC via Steam and the EA app. And by the way, it'll even support cross-platform multiplayer, so you can vie for the top time against your friends, no matter what box they're gaming on. Hallelujah. *Got a tip? Email us at tips@thedrive.com* ## Author Adam is a Senior Editor at The Drive, concentrating on curating and developing the site's slate of daily journalism, from initial pitch to final copy edit. When he's not at his desk researching leads and working with writers, he's testing vehicles or reviewing racing games, new and old. He joined The Drive in 2023, following seven years of covering consumer technology and cars. A car lover and gamer since his earliest memories, Adam came to know the automotive world through video games. First it was Daytona USA, Sega Rally, and Ridge Racer; then came Need For Speed, which inspired an encyclopedic knowledge of '90s supercars, and, of course, Gran Turismo. If not for them, he'd assuredly be doing something else right now. Adam is based in the suburbs outside Philly, where there are ample roads for his hot hatch to stretch its legs. In his car, he's probably listening to indie rock, drum and bass, or Yankees baseball. ### Author social links [Bluesky]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()