The first details about the next official FIA World Rally Championship game have emerged. Nacon re-acquired the rights to make the titles last year, with a deal that runs between 2027 and 2032.
Having previously held the licence, it was assumed that WRC game stalwarts KT Racing would take up development duties. However, with that team continuing to support Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown and the upcoming Endurance Motorsport Series, an all-new outfit will take the helm.
French outfit Grit Games has been formed to create the next WRC titles, and it will utilise the ubiquitous Unreal Engine 5 technology stack to do so. The embryonic team visited the season-opening Rallye Monte Carlo to gather information and inspiration ahead of next year’s game.
It has also confirmed that it is a new project from scratch, as opposed to continuing on from 2022’s WRC Generations title, the last in the series published by Nacon (before a one-off EA SPORTS WRC game in 2023)
“We have already been working on this project for several months,” said Game Director, Pierre-Nicolas Moreau, to Alexander Arthur during a Nacon Racing presentation.
“The game is not the continuation of the previous WRC games, [such as] WRC Generations. It’s a completely new vision and cycle starting, so we will be doing it from scratch.
“We will be using Unreal Engine 5, the focus is on building a solid foundation for the physics, the sound and the environment and deliver the best possible experience with thrills, precision handling and exciting takes on the level design of the various WRC locations.”
In the virtual space, it will be competing with Assetto Corsa Rally, currently in early access and also using Unreal Engine 5. In the real world, the WRC will employ new regulations, with dramatically different top-class vehicles (alongside existing Rally2 machines), which will be replicated in that year’s game.