EA Abandons One Of The Longest-Running Racing Franchises After 25 Years

Earlier contiguous racing crippled developer Codemasters announced that it was nary longer processing immoderate aboriginal ungraded rally racing games, ending a 25-year tally that started backmost successful 1998.

On April 30, Codemasters—a UK workplace that specializes successful racing games and was bought by EA successful 2021— posted an update connected its authoritative website announcing that it would nary longer merchandise caller updates oregon expansions for 2023's EA Sports WRC rally racing game. This crippled acted arsenic a successor to the Dirt series, which itself had connections to the studio’s earlier Colin McRae Rally franchise that started each the mode backmost connected the archetypal PlayStation. But the much disappointing quality for fans is that Codemasters is done making rally games altogether.

As announced successful the Wednesday update, Codemasters is “pausing” each existent improvement connected aboriginal ungraded racing rally games, efficaciously sidesplitting the Dirt/Colin McRae rally franchise aft 2 decades and 10+ entries. The past introduction successful the Dirt franchise, Dirt 5, launched successful 2020. Kotaku has reached retired to EA for much information.

“For now, we are pausing improvement plans connected aboriginal rally titles,” explained Codemasters. “Our [World Rally Championship] concern was a culmination of sorts for our Codemasters travel with off-road racing, spanning decades done titles similar Colin McRae Rally, and Dirt. We’ve provided a location for each rally enthusiast, striving tirelessly to propulsion the boundaries and present the exhilarating thrill of driving connected the ragged edge. We’ve brought unneurotic incredibly talented racing developers, worked with immoderate of the sport’s icons, and had the accidental to stock our emotion of rallying. Thank you to each the fans who person and proceed to beryllium portion of our rally journey.”

The workplace promised fans that EA Sports WRC will proceed to beryllium “available” to caller and existing players, truthful thankfully it doesn’t dependable similar the team’s past rally crippled volition beryllium delisted and unopen down anytime soon. Still, it’s a shame to spot the workplace stepping distant from rally racing aft astir 30 years of fantabulous games successful a genre that is often ignored by different studios and publishers.

Codemasters volition proceed to make different racing games, similar EA’s yearly F1 series and perchance (hopefully) aboriginal entries successful the way racer franchise Grid.

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