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EA Sports WRC
GRTV News - Codemasters loses the WRC licence
EA Sports WRC will receive no further support nor a successor.
Audio transcription
"Hello everyone and welcome back to another episode of GRTV News.
Yesterday I did mention that we were probably going to be talking about Borderlands 4 today because of the state of play that happened last night and well that is something that did happen."
"If you want to check out all the information, all the news and all that you can find it on your local Gamereactor region.
Instead we're gonna have to instead once again talk about EA because yesterday we talked about EA making a decision to lay off a bunch of employees and to cancel an unannounced Titanfall game with the layoffs even affecting Respawn itself."
"Now we're seeing something else related to EA happen and this one's related to Codemasters and the WRC franchise.
Essentially EA has halted the WRC series, there will not be any more EA Sports WRC games.
Codemasters, the license has been taken away from the developer, the WRC organisation as a whole are now going elsewhere, they're gonna find someone else to make games based on the brand and it's led to a lot of questions as to what this means for Codemasters."
"Are they the next to face layoffs?
Will this affect any other sort of games coming from Codemasters?
Things like that.
Now we're gonna dive in now and take a look at all the details but there's a fair bit to get through."
"Codemasters loses WRC license as EA halts the series.
EA is pulling the brakes on its WRC series.
Codemasters who developed the game has reportedly lost the license, leaving fans of the official rally series in limbo."
"So yesterday Bloomberg reported that EA is initiating another round of layoffs, cutting 400 developers, 100 of which are from Respawn Entertainment, Titanfall and Apex, and around 300 from other EA-owned studios.
Among those affected are staff from Codemasters, which is now shutting down all development on EA Sports WRC and returning the license to the World Rally Championship organisation."
"According to anonymous sources within the studio, GameRaptors learned that Dirt Rally 2.0 sold over 6 million copies, while EA Sports WRC didn't even reach 600,000 units sold.
Clearly the main reason EA is now pulling the plug.
Below you'll find Codemasters' official statement on the shutdown, released earlier today."
"This is what they say.
So dear Rally community, every great journey eventually finds its finish line and today we announce that we've reached the end of the road working on WRC.
After releasing EA Sports WRC in 2023, the 2024 season, including the recently released Hard Chargers content pack, will be our last expansion."
"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.
We hope it remains a source of joy, excitement and the thrill of rally racing.
We've poured our hearts into making it for fans and we know you'll keep the passion alive."
"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."
"So we've brought together incredibly talented racing developers, worked with some of the sports icons and had the opportunity to share our love of rallying.
Thank you to all the fans who have and continue to be a part of our rally journey.
WRC, the organisation, simultaneously announced they have ended the partnership with EA and Codemasters and have sold the license to other developers who will take the game series in new and interesting directions."
"So this is it.
This is the end.
And again, this is the WRC's official statement where they state, what a ride it's been over the past three years."
"WRC has been elevated to another level in the gaming world thanks to the dedication of EA Sports and Codemasters.
Now our WRC gaming franchise is going in an ambitious new direction with more news coming in the near future."
"Until that time, gaming fans can continue to experience the pinnacle of rallying on EA Sports WRC.
So yeah, it's not been a very easy week for EA.
Playoffs, game shutdowns, now they've lost the license to EA Sports WRC."
"I think it's kind of surprising in a way that this game sold as little as it did.
I think it had its kinks and it has its quirks, but I think it's generally speaking not a bad racing game, especially when you compare it to some of the things that the WRC brand had offered beforehand from KT Racing."
"Some of those games were particularly poor, I will say.
But yeah, you have to look at it now and wonder what's next.
I would assume that if they've lost the entirety of the WRC license, and considering F1 has continued to progress on its own without any interruption or any additional need of help, I would assume that Codemasters is probably at risk of layoffs here, unless they can persuade EA to let them pursue something different."
"I think Codemasters is a weird developer because it's so based around racing games and we tend to find that the F1 series is their golden goose.
You look at what else Codemasters has done as of late and you have things like Grid Legends, which again, so-so received, so you have to wonder what's next for them."
"I would assume that Codemasters as a company will be fine and that the F1 series will continue to progress and plug along nicely.
Then again though, if this year's installment, which comes out at the end of this month, doesn't sell as well as EA would have hoped, then you have to think that Codemasters is probably in a little bit of danger as well."
"And if that is the case, then EA as a whole has a really weird setup because they could lose, or their prime racing developer could be at risk.
One of their greatest and most...
One of their heritage studios could be at risk through Bioware, depending on what happens to Mass Effect 4 or whatever we're going to call that one, 5."
"It's a very unusual time to be EA because normally you kind of look at it as a company that just cruises on and does its own thing, makes a lot of revenue through its sports games, but clearly this has not been the case over the last sort of financial year or whatever.
So we'll have to see how things change, if things change, and as more information about this all does come out, we'll be sure to keep you posted, so stay tuned for that."
"Otherwise though, I'll be back now tomorrow for the last GRT News of the Week, so I'll see you all on the next one.
Take care everyone."
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