EA aren't making any more rally games, but there are alternatives

EA have announced they're "pausing" development of any future rally racers, including the filth-speckled WRC and Dirt series. Many rally games have historically been made by the now EA-owned studio Codemasters, a crowd of long-time motorsports specialists who've been soiling wheel arches as far back as Colin McCrae Rally for the first PlayStation. Well, no more, say the big wigs. The games have "reached the end of the road", they say. Bad news for fans of muck and sand on wheels, but there is a splash of muddy hope just past the next hard right.

"For now, we are pausing development plans on future rally titles. Rest assured, EA SPORTS WRC will continue to be available for existing and new players," said a statement from Codemasters. "Our WRC partnership was a culmination of sorts for our Codemasters journey with off-road racing, spanning decades through titles like Colin McRae Rally, and Dirt. We've provided a home for every rally enthusiast, striving tirelessly to push the boundaries and deliver the exhilarating thrill of driving on the ragged edge."

All those games have now tumbled off that ragged edge, just like 10-year-old me playing Colin McCrae Rally on a PS1 demo disc in 1998. Codemasters have been responsible for much of the genre over the past few decades with the Dirt series, as EA mention above. But the parallel WRC series has also flown the flag, going through the hands of many different developers and publishers. French studio Kylotonn made the games for a while, publishing under Bigben Interactive. Codies got the license to make WRC games in 2020, and then everything became one big corporately consolidated parking lot when Codemasters themselves were snorted up by EA the following year.

So, we can add the deletion of blockbuster rally games from the near future to the many negative effects of corporations binge eating other smaller businesses. It's not yet clear how this decision has impacted workers at Codemasters, but it is obviously concerning given EA's recent wave of layoffs. EA has cut between 300 and 400 jobs across their company this week, according to reports by Bloomberg.

There is one faint god ray shining into these roadside puddles. Rally is (and always has been) open to smaller developers. In particular, the low-poly indie racer Art Of Rally has been favourably received by dirtsters. And Parking Garage Rally Circuit offers similar Sega Saturnesque drifts around high-rise parking facilities. There's also the lesser-known Old School Rally, and the illegal rally racing in My Summer Car. Uh, provided you know how to build an entire car from scratch. We have a list of best racing games too, if you fancy that.

Remember: when big corpos buy out all the bacon, go looking for the tasty lardons. Also, this doesn't necessarily mean the end for WRC games. The FIA (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, the international vroomsports body that runs the real life World Rally Championship) has teased on Xitter that the game series will continue in the hands of another developer somewhere, as pointed out by cheery RPS fanzine PC Gamer.

"Now our WRC gaming franchise is going in an ambitious new direction," they say, "with more news coming in the near future."