''WRC 8'', also known as ''WRC 8 FIA World Rally Championship'', is the official game of the 2019 World Rally Championship. The game was developed by French developer

Kylotonn Kylotonn SARL is a French video game development studio founded in 2006 in Paris. They are best known for their racing games, and are the official developer of the ''World Rally Championship'' video game series since 2015. History 4X Stud ...

and published on 10 September 2019 by Bigben Interactive for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4,

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...

and Nintendo Switch. The game carries an official

World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is the highest level of global competition in the motorsport discipline of rallying, owned and governed by the FIA. There are separate championships for drivers, co-drivers, manufacturers and t ...

esports licence.

Development and release

''WRC 8'' was revealed as the official game of the 2019 FIA World Rally Championship in February 2019. It features dynamic weather and an entirely redesigned career mode reminiscent of

Codemasters The Codemasters Software Company Limited (trade name: Codemasters) is a British video game developer based in Southam, England, which is a subsidiary of American corporation Electronic Arts. Founded by brothers Richard and David Darling in Oct ...

' ''

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

'' series. The game also sees the addition of new classic cars, much like its main rival, Codemasters' ''

Colin McRae Rally ''Dirt'' and ''Dirt Rally'' (stylized as ''DiRT'' and ''DiRT Rally'', formerly known as ''Colin McRae Rally''), also known as ''EA Sports Rally'', is a rally racing video game series developed by Codemasters and published by Electronic Arts und ...

/DiRT'' series, including the

Lancia Stratos The Lancia Stratos HF (''Tipo 829''), widely and more simply known as Lancia Stratos, is a rear mid-engined sports car designed for rally racing, made by Italian car manufacturer Lancia. The HF stands for ''High Fidelity''. It was a very succes ...

and

Renault Alpine The Société des Automobiles Alpine SAS, commonly known as Alpine (), is a French manufacturer of racing and sports cars established in 1955. The Alpine car marque was created in 1954. Jean Rédélé, the founder of Alpine, was originally a ...

. The game also offers more content than the previous game, with 102 special stages spread across the championship's 14 countries. The game was released to Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in September 2019, and was later ported to Nintendo Switch on 31 October.

Reception

''WRC 8'' received "generally favorable" reviews, according to video game

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, with reviewers praising the major improvements made to both the game's physics and graphics. Martin Robinson of ''

Eurogamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 and owned by alongside formed company Gamer Network. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson. Since 2008, it is known for the formerly eponymous games trade fair EG ...

'' praised the ongoing evolution of the series, saying that "it's a significant year for the series, having taken a year away and returning from its break revitalised and refreshed. In fact, having personally only kept a watching brief on Kylotonn's tenure on the series since it signed up with

WRC 5 ''WRC 5'' is a racing video game based on the 2015 World Rally Championship season. The game was developed by French developer Kylotonn and published by Bigben Interactive for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, ...

, it feels like a different series entirely."

Accolades

The game was nominated for "Best Game" at the Pégases Awards 2020.

References

External links