Summary
The team behindEA Sports WRC, Codemasters, has announced its decision to end the game’s development, with no new content planned beyond the 2024 season. This revelation comes just over a month after the roll-out ofEA Sports WRC’s second DLC of 2025, the Hard Chargers Content Pack.
Since being established in 2001, theWorld Rally ChampionshiporWRCseries of rally racing titles has produced over a dozen mainline entries along with some spin-offs. Throughout its existence, the license for the franchise has also switched hands multiple times, with its latest owner—Codemasters—securing the rights back in 2020. After theBritish studio’s takeover by EA in 2021, the devs finally put the IP to use and releasedEA Sports WRCin 2023 to a positive reception. Since then, multiple expansions of the game, including a major one titledEA Sports WRC 24, have come out. However, most recently, the Codemasters team surprised fans by communicating an end to the game’s content cadence, with no promise of reviving the same in the future.
Codemasters revealedthat there will be no further updates forEA Sports WRCafter the Hard Chargers Content Pack, which shipped on March 25. Going one step further, the devs also shared their decision to halt the development of future rally games by the team. Giving reassurance toEA Sports WRCplayers, they confirmed that the game will continue to be available for new and existing users. Furthermore, theracing game veteran Codemastersreflected on its partnership with WRC and labeled it as the “culmination of sorts” for its storied legacy in this genre.
EA Sports WRC Devs to End Development, Take a Break from Rallying Games
While Codemasters abruptly announcing its decision to stop working onEA Sports WRCmight seem unusual, it could also be seen as in keeping with the uncertainty surrounding EA-owned studios right now. Case in point, Respawn Entertainment—theStar Wars Jedistudio—was recently reported to have conducted layoffs, affecting 100 employees, in the aftermath of multiple project cancellations.
Even if Codemasters no longer makes newEA Sports WRCcontent, its limited-time license, which is in place till 2027, still continues to elapse. With that in mind, it will be interesting to see how long theEA subsidiary’s WRC rally racing IPkeeps gathering dust before it is used again or is passed on to someone else.
EA Sports WRC
WHERE TO PLAY
Build the car of your dreams in our biggest rally game ever, EA SPORTS™ WRC, the official videogame of the FIA World Rally Championship, the first developed by the award-winning team behind the DiRT Rally series.MAKE YOUR OWN: Design and drive your dream rally car with the debut of Builder mode.REWRITE HEADLINES: Get behind the wheel and overcome recent events alongside real-world highlights and nostalgic throwbacks in Moments mode.DYNAMIC HANDLING SYSTEM: Codemasters’ renowned multi-surface handling model is improved for WRC. Tailor it to match your skill level and put it to the test on surface degradation.IMMERSIVE: Revel in euphoric moments as you battle the elements across dirt, snow and asphalt in the pursuit of the perfect run.AUTHENTICITY: Built on the foundations of over 25 years of rally-game heritage, drive the WRC, WRC2, and Junior WRC cars, with drivers, teams, and liveries from the 2023 season.JOURNEY THROUGH WRC HISTORY: Challenge yourself behind the wheel of epic WRC cars and travel through rallying history with a variety of 70 authentically recreated historic vehicles.
