WRC announced a fresh license partnership from Nacon, granting them the exclusive rights to develop and publish official WRC games and conducting ESPORTS competitions for six seasons, from 2027 to 2032.
Messages appear shortly after the announcement of EA that after one game they give up the WRC license (though with an year of additional content) and generally stopping the development of rally games. Although no studio has been confirmed, it is likely that Nacon will say KT Racing, the studio has previously created the official series of WRC games in 2015-2022.
This is described as “a completely new series of WRC games”, which is “a complete re -launch of a franchise, based on a completely fresh vision, and means an ambitious new chapter of brand development.”
This is not completely surprising, considering how long it will be since the WRC generation. The game introduced to the market in 2022 was the biggest hit for the WRC KT Racing series, running for generations and incoming hybrid cars Rally1 as the main act. A few years at WRC abandoned hybrid engines from Rally1, and by 2027 there would be further changes.
“We are glad that we can renew our cooperation with the WRC promoter. This iconic license is a unique playground to build a highly sophisticated driving experience that meet the expectations of rally fans,” said Alain Falc, CEO of Nacon. “In the years 2015–2023 we had the opportunity to work closely with official championship teams and many drivers, allowing us to gain solid and exceptional knowledge in the field of translating a rally into a video game. This new undertaking means the main milestone: the mainly renewed project powered by passionate and specialist team, with clear ambition to the erection of rally games.”
“After a comprehensive assessment, we have been pleased to reach an agreement with Nacon,” expressed the marketing director of FIA World Rally, Arne Dirks. “Their vision of franchise stands out, and their specialist knowledge in providing great rally games is unquestionable. We are looking forward to breaking new ground in this cooperation to really transform WRC games into epic adventures and offer the impressions of games outside the rally we know today.”
It is great to see WRC and Rally Gaming, after a few years, which could be seen as lost with fans of racing subspecies. The game Codemasters, EA Sports WRC, was a good effort, although it brought fresh technical challenges, because the studio adapted to Unreal Engine 4 and clearly did not sell enough copies to keep EA in a license or racing species. Certainly, it seems that Codemasters could force them to get a license to become more attractive as the goal of acquisition, finally sophisticated in EA Sports.
In the meantime, KT Racing had a complex final development for tests of unlimited clear clear crown and a fruitful edition, and also has a series of development of Motorsport Endurance, expected at the end of this year.
Source: WRC
