DiRT / WRC Video Game Series
Colin McRae: DiRT
Series DiRT is the direct successor to the series Colin McRae Rally, launched in 1998 by Codemasters. When in 2004 the series' patron Colin McRae abandoned WRC racing in favor of the Dakar Rally and the X-Games series, the developers decided to change the direction of its development, enriching the game with off-road rallies and increasing the range of available vehicles to include off-road cars, trucks and rovers. The new game also received a significant name DiRT.
After McRae's tragic death in 2007, the Scottish driver's name finally disappeared from the series title. The new face of the series DiRT became American Ken Block, who had a track record in WRC rallying and numerous successes in the X-Games. Block's specialty was also breathtaking stunt driving. Hence, in subsequent installments of the series: DiRT 3 (2011) i DiRT Showdown (2012), a new mode of play was introduced - the so-called Gymkhana, which consists in performing stunt stunts with a car.
In 2015, the game was released DiRT Rally, which represented a kind of return to the roots. The arcade and stunt elements were abandoned, focusing instead on a more realistic representation of rally racing. The driving model and car damage system were expanded. At the same time, it was the first installment to take into account the eighth-generation consoles (Xbox One and PlayStation 4), which allowed to implement many impressive graphical solutions.
In turn, released in 2017 DiRT 4 can primarily boast the FIA World Rallycross Championship license. The developers decided to use all their baggage of experience, thanks to which in the game we can find both arcade elements, known from previous installments of the series, and a large dose of realism, associated with the DiRT Rally (mainly an advanced damage model and an extensive vehicle damage system). The game appeared on PC, PS4 and XONE.
At the end of February 2019, it was released DiRT Rally 2.0, which is a car rally simulator. The game allows you to hire and manage employees, as well as improve your garage. In addition, the gameplay is significantly influenced by the weather, or even the type and quality of the road surface. Like DiRT 4, DiRT Rally 2.0 also appeared on PC and Sony and Microsoft consoles.
Each installment of the series includes both a singleplayer mode, which is the main part of the gameplay, and multiplayer, which allows racing against other players.
The most important installments of the series have also been released on mobile devices and handheld consoles. Individual installments came out on platforms such as Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advanced, N-Gage, PSP and Nintendo DS. In 2013, a remastered edition of the first part of the series was released - the Colin McRae Rally - which supported iOS and Android in addition to Windows and Mac OS X operating systems.
All parts were based on Codemasters' proprietary engine called Ego (or Neon Engine). It allows rendering the game world, which is complex in detail, so that the dynamic lighting and extensive destruction system present in the productions make a very good impression.
To date, the best game in the series has been recognized as DiRT 4 - in the week it was released, took second place in the UK sales charts, overtaken only by GTA V.
DiRT / WRC Series Evolution
2023
WRC
2020
DiRT 5
2019
DiRT Rally 2.0
2017
DiRT 4
2015
DiRT Rally
2012
DiRT Showdown
2011
DiRT 3
2009
Colin McRae: DiRT 2
2007
DiRT
WRC
Racing
November 3, 2023
EA Sports WRC is the first officially licensed WRC rally simulator by Codemasters. It's an unofficial sequel to the DiRT Rally series, being just as realistic.
DiRT 5
Racing
November 6, 2020
DiRT 5 is another part of the racing cycle focusing on rallies. The game offers a number of improvements in gameplay mechanics and audiovisual setting. DiRT 5 was developed by the well-known studio Codemasters Software.
DiRT Rally 2.0
Racing
February 26, 2019
DiRT Rally 2.0 is the next installment of the best-selling racing game series, which allows you to take part in rallies. The game was prepared by the British studio Codemasters, which has been developing the series since its inception.
DiRT 4
Racing
June 9, 2017
Another installment in the popular series of racing games developed by Codemasters. The game expand the concepts its predecessors were based on, adding however, plenty of novelties at the same time. DiRT 4 offers over 50 cars and several kinds of championships - above all, rally events. Furthermore, the Landrush mode makes a re-appearance here, but also rallycross events were included, based on the FIA World Rallycross Championship license. The Joyride complements the game modes, offering various kinds of challenges for the player to enjoy. The Career is the most basic mode - the player creates their own driver, attracts sponsors and develops their team, which gradually gets more and more effective. Apart from that, the game brings a competition-based multiplayer component supervised by the RaceNet service, which makes it possible to organize on-line leagues and tournaments. What is completely new here, is the so-called "Your Stage", which is a special module that allows the player to create their own routes. DiRT 4 utilizes a modified and modernized version of the Ego engine, which is at the source of the game's high-quality visuals.
DiRT Rally
Racing
December 7, 2015
The next major installment in a bestselling racing game series developed by British studio Codemasters. The title returns to the origins of the series, originally launched in 1998 as Colin McRae Rally, focusing solely on good old rallying. The player can drive a wide array of cars from 6 classes, including both new brands as well as classic models from 1960s. You can compete in several varied locations scattered across the globe, e.g. Wales, Greece, or Monte Carlo. The authors put heavy emphasis on the realism, and the driving model reflects that, taking into account numerous factors, including the road surface and your car’s customization. As your vehicle can be damaged, it is essential to hire a team of mechanics who can repair the car and upgrade it with new parts which you successively unlock throughout gameplay.
DiRT Showdown
Racing
May 24, 2012
A spin-off installment of the racing game series from Codemasters, which, contrary to the major installments in the franchise, puts emphasis on crazier, purely arcade, and much more spectacular gameplay. Some of its features, namely the Gymkhan mode, have already appeared in DiRT 3. In the game, we take part in a grand motorshow and compete in several game modes divided into three categories. The first one is traditional racing (Lap Attack, Eliminator, Domination), the second, the Hooningan’s challenges, involves breaking objects or performing various stunts. However, at the core of DiRT Showdown is the demolition mode where we compete in special arenas, and our task is to survive, while eliminating as many opponents as possible. Implementing new game modes, the developers took care of more spectacular damage model, thanks to which our vehicles spectacularly break apart during the competition.
DiRT 3
Racing
May 24, 2011
The third full-fledged installment belonging to the incredibly popular racing-themed franchise developed by Codemasters. The DiRT subseries has cultivated traditions initiated in the late 1990s by the Colin McRae Rally series. After the previous game, which emphasized off-road competition, DiRT 3 constitutes a return to the original concept behind the main Colin McRae series, bringing back rally competition in its most classic form (the game uses the official WRC licenses). However, this third iteration still introduces a massive number of novelties, such as stunt arenas from the X-Games competitions, or a completely new type of contest, that is the so-called Gymkhana - it was popularized by one of the most famous drivers in the world, Ken Block. Gymkhana is all about being fast and showing off at the same time - a designated route has to be completed as quickly as possible, but the player is rewarded with points for performing various stunts along the way. As usual, a wide set of licensed cars is at the player's disposal here, many of them originating in different time periods. Also, DiRT 3 features buggies and pickups - those are typically used in off-road competitions.
Colin McRae: DiRT 2
Racing
September 8, 2009
The sequel of the well-received racing game entitled Colin McRae: DiRT that set a completely new direction for the racing game series by Codemasters, labeled with the name of the tragically deceased Scottish racing driver. DiRT 2 focuses on dynamic off-road tournaments in which we can sit behind the wheel of several licensed cars. The new career mode was designed similarly to that of GRID — while traveling around the world, we take part in races and gradually build our reputation. As we progress, we establish friendships with other aces of motorsports such as Travis Pastrana or Ken Block who invite us to exclusive tournaments with valuable prizes. The game has a typical youth style, although it retains the class of its predecessors. From among the introduced novelties, the most notable ones are enhanced gameplay mechanics, the improved Flashback feature, and significantly expanded multiplayer.
DiRT
Racing
June 15, 2007
A continuation of the popular racing game series labeled with the name of Colin McRae, a famous racing driver. Contrary to the previous installments of the series that were devoted to classic car racing, this time around, the developers at Codemasters decided to turn their eye to a completely different direction and focus on off-road racing, which was an equally important episode in the career of the legendary Scotsman. Colin McRae DiRT features an extensive career mode in which we can participate in a number of various challenges, starting with off-road special sections to rallycross tournaments and mountain races on the popular Pikes Peak track in Colorado. Depending on the race, we have different types of licensed cars at our disposal. As we drive, the vehicles can be damaged in various ways and are gradually covered with the eponymous dirt. The title also features a multiplayer mode that lets us compete against other players over the Internet.
DiRT / WRC Series News
Layoffs at Codemasters; EA Tries to Calm the Situation
The plague of layoffs has not spared Codemasters. EA has vowed that the downsizing is minor, but the lack of commercial success of F1 23 and EA Sports WRC does not bode well for the future.
video games
Kamil Kleszyk
December 5, 2023
EA Sports WRC Launches; Codemasters' First Game World Rally Championship Game
The official launch of EA Sports WRC is now behind us. The title was developed by Codemasters, studio to which we owe many great racing games.
video games
Kamil Kleszyk
November 3, 2023
How to Fix Stuttering and Performance Issues in EA Sports WRC
If you had a chance to play EA Sports WRC, you might have experienced some performance issues and stuttering. If you are tired of it, we have gathered some tips that may help you.
How to
Aleksander Kartasinski
November 2, 2023
RoboCop and EA Sports WRC Early Access Launch; First Reviews
Those who decided to preorder RoboCop: Rogue City and EA Sports WRC can play both titles starting today.
video games
Kamil Kleszyk
October 31, 2023
6-minute Gameplay Video From WRC Shows Improvements on DiRT Rally 2.0
We've received an initial glimpse of gameplay from EA Sports WRC. Fragments of gameplay are included in the 6-minute trailer, which demonstrates the various improvements in Codemasters' new game compared to DiRT Rally 2.0.
video games
Christopher Mysiak
September 21, 2023
EA Sports WRC Officially Announced; Trailer Available
We finally saw the first trailer for EA Sports WRC, the new rally simulator from Codemasters, which is the de facto sequel to DiRT Rally 2.0. We also know the release date - it's pretty far away - as well as the price and system requirements.
video games
Christopher Mysiak
September 6, 2023
Codemasters' WRC Game Release Date Leaked Along With Price
A new rally game from Codemasters is still reportedly scheduled for release this year. As reported by billbil-kun, the game has been renamed to EA Sports WRC. We also learned the game's release date and surprisingly low price.
video games
Christopher Mysiak
September 1, 2023
WRC 23 From Codemasters May've Been Delayed Internally
New leaks have surfaced online about the upcoming rally simulator, WRC 23. The game's release, although not yet officially announced, has apparently been delayed.
video games
Zuzanna Domeradzka
July 5, 2023
WRC 23 From Codemasters Ready for Launch, Verified Tipster Claims
A lot of rumors and unconfirmed reports have been making round concerning the unannounced WRC game from Codemasters. This time, an imminent announcement and release of the title has been suggested.
video games
Adam Celarek
March 21, 2023
WRC 23 From Codemasters Ready for Launch, Verified Tipster Claims
A lot of rumors and unconfirmed reports have been making round concerning the unannounced WRC game from Codemasters. This time, an imminent announcement and release of the title has been suggested.
video games
Adam Celarek
March 21, 2023