WRC 23: Praying for VR
Update July 7-4-23: Latest info has this titled delayed to fall 2023. "Before November 1st" are the words we're seeing now. Still zero information on inclusion of VR or not. stay tuned.
Update 5-22-23: Well-regarded leaker has a source revealing a July 28th release date. Lots of showcases coming up (VR ones :D), hoping to get official information soon. It also appears to be a next gen exclusive. PS5, Series X, and PC only
Update 5-3-23: With the release date now announced for f1 23, we have to assume the spring release for WRC 23 rumors are not true. Our best guess at this point is a fall release for this title. We will, however, hold on to the hope of seeing it sooner.
Codemasters has been the rally racing king for years. Some may point to Richard Burns Rally for it's realism and force feedback. Others may gravitate towards the WRC games of old from KT Racing for their career progression and proper handling of pavement and tarmac surfaces. That's all well and good. Totally valid. Codemasters has been doing this for a long time though. Way back in Colin McRae days back on the PS1. Many view the Dirt Rally 1 and 2.0 as the best modern day simulations of rally racing. I am one of those people.
I don't know about you, but I am beyond excited to see what they have in store for us this time around. Unfortunately, there hasn't been much info from the Codemasters camp yet. We know they ditched work on Dirt Rally 3.0 to focus on WRC 23, but we're halfway through spring and still waiting for more info. Come on, Codies, don't leave us hanging!
The burning question on everyones mind is weither or not this new game will have VR support. All signs point to yes. Both Dirt Rally 1 and 2.0 have pretty solid VR support. Not perfect, but very serviceable and enjoyable. It stands to reason that Dirt Rally 3.0 was going to follow suite. So, forgive me for assuming the game that is taking its place will have VR support. We have reason to be excited for their VR future as well. They bought Mad Studios who made some seriously stunning VR visuals in their Project Cars games. I'm hopeful that talent was able to step in and bring us a VR rally product better than anything we've seen yet.
But there's a catch. Codemasters' other rally games do not have VR. After Dirt Rally 1's release, we saw Dirt 4 and 5 both release without such support. Pancake only. Of course those were much heavier on the arcade style of rally.
Now they are bringing a whole different product in an officially licensed WRC game. It's possible that VR gets bumped this go around. They have recently been acquired by EA, so we also don't know if they stepped in and told them to focus on the base game instead of adding VR support. Either way, we are still waiting for a straight answer on this one. We are potentially weeks away from release and this basic question is still out there.
Looking beyond VR support, what else might we expect from a WRC game from Codemasters in 2023? One exciting feature that was introduced by KT Racing in WRC Generations was the hybrid system. This offered us a literal boost thanks to an extra battery that would recharge under braking. It changed the way you attacked a stage, using your braking to build up battery power to deliver an explosive boost of speed, ideally coming out of a hairpin. It is an exhilarating experience, and one that I can only imagine experiencing in VR.
Word from insiders say this is looking to be a solid outing for the franchise. Nothing but thumbs up so far. Lips are staying sealed tight in regards to any features though. That includes VR. All we know is an official announcement is 'coming soon', yet that's the line we've been hearing for the last month at least.