As the 2023 Formula 1 season drags to its inevitable Red Bull clean-sweep, fans are left to create thrilling action in F1 23. Codemasters' latest officially licensed title is a very enjoyable racing game that has been held back by a few things.
Most notable is its engine. First used for Colin McRae: Dirt back in 2007, the Ego engine was first used for a Formula 1 game in 2009 and is still in use today. That is two whole console generations! Well, that may all come to an end with F1 24.
WRC's big change
The notion that F1 24 could use a different engine is one that has lived in the hopes and dreams of every racer since F1 23 was announced to still be using Ego.
The old engine, along with the game still publishing on PS4 and Xbox One, has been keeping the series from truly moving into this generation of gaming. That may be ending now.
The recent announcement of EA Sports WRC has confirmed a few rather incredible things. Firstly, having claimed the WRC license from KT Racing as of 2023, Codemasters is dropping the new game onto PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC ONLY. They are leaving behind the old consoles.
The other piece of news is that EA Sports WRC will use Unreal Engine, not Ego.
This change is music to the ears of rally fans, and something F1 players are already looking at jealously.
An unreal thought
Unreal Engine can already be seen in all its racing glory in Assetto Corsa Competizione. A beautiful game with exceptional lighting, physics, handling, and AI opposition, ACC is one of the best racing games available today.
The idea that Codemasters' F1 games could have the same engine purring underneath it is mouth-watering. It should open up the possibilities to make foundational changes to the game and remove some of the more persistent bugs that have been plaguing the F1 franchise for years now.
Obviously this is all speculation at this point, but launching EA Sports WRC on a new engine rather than Codemasters' bespoke one was completely unexpected and could signal a big change in their games going forward.
The F1 series has felt like it is in a holding pattern for a few years now as it tries to capture the biggest audience across PS4/Xbox One and PS5/Xbox Series X|S. A switch to Unreal Engine could finally cut off the now-ancient generation of consoles and allow the game to truly move forward into a new era.