We are reporting on a new rumor today, that WRC 2023 has been in development for some time and is going to be announced soon.
This comes from billbil-kun on Twitter, who had this to say on the site:
“EXCLUSIVE
WRC 2023’s title from EA/Codemasters is ready to launch
Expect an announcement very soon”
We can’t vouch for the veracity of the rumor, but of course, billbil-kun is one of those leakers who has a bit of a reputation for this sort of thing.
For those who are unaware or have been confused, we’ll share a small primer on WRC here.
The real life WRC, the World Rally Championship, is run by the FIA. That’s the same organization that runs the Formula One driving series. The big difference is that F1 is for the very rigidly rule bound formula racing, while WRC is for rally racing. Unlike F1, WRC’s rally racing is done on a point to point format. Instead of repeating laps in a circuit, they race from one point to another on a variety of racing tracks.
The WRC holds three to four day rally events, experiencing the rough roads found in different parts of the world. Rally racers have to race in a variety of surfaces, from gravel, tarmac, snow, and ice.
The WRC video game franchise has been going on since 2001. Technically, we are now at a third distinct series, as the licenses moved between publishers and game developers.
Now, there’s an unusual serendipity that happened here for WRC 2023. Codemasters acquired the WRC video game license in 2020. EA then acquired Codemasters a year later. So this means EA, also publisher of the Need for Speed franchise, will be releasing its first WRC game with Codemasters. And that will also happen to be Codemasters’ first WRC game as well.
EA and Codemasters may be proven names in racing video games, but we don’t quite know what to expect with WRC 2023.
The most recent developer of WRC games prior to Codemasters is French studio Kylotonn. Starting in 2015, Kylotonn had published simply numbered WRC games, from WRC 5 to WRC 10, all the way until 2021. They had only passed 2018 without such a game, with their final game being WRC Generations from last year.
Truthfully, Kylotonn’s WRC racing games had a mixed legacy in this past near decade, so the switch to publisher and developer is likely long overdue. Here’s hoping Codemasters and EA can bring the franchise up to shape for the modern sim racing market.