Electronic Arts purchased Codemasters in 2021 after a bout of the game development studio being publicly traded. Now, you probably know the studio for the laundry list of games across tons of different IPs, such as Dirt Rally, Grid, F1, and the like, all tied together with one thing in common; they're all racing or car games. For the longest time, this has been a pivitol trait of the studio that looks to be a thing of the past, with Rally being among their more popular until now.
That's right, EA has announced that the studio is no longer looking at making more rally games. This comes after EA's partnership with the World Rally Championship, which emcompassed the last few decades of Codemaster's library, often releasing two racing games a year, has ended. The game will still remain up for players new and old, but they shouldn't hold their breath for new content. It's also not clear how truthful this is, as we can absolutely see this game going down in a year's time.
“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."
Now, it's unclear just how negatively this will impact Codemasters, it's possibly they'll just move on to another sort of game in the same vein or find itself under EA with some sort of game line that looks eerily similar. The studio isn't just making WRC-linked games, it also has the F1 series, which is an ongoing deal.
A good example of what we mean about going with a similar game line, though, is what happened after EA lost their FIFA deal back in 2022, leading to the studio making their own soccer game series under their EA Sports brand with EA Sports FC. Of note, they also delisted tons of FIFA games, which naturally didn't sit well with people.
This came at a pretty rough time for Electronic Arts, as the Cali-based game developer has bleed through hundreds of staffers, canceling the long-rumored new Titanfall game, and forcing Respawn Entertainment to refocus their priorities to the free-to-play live service battle royale, Apex Legends and the licensed Star Wars Jedi line of games.