A new era for the WRC series is about to begin. Later today, EA will reveal its new WRC game, EA Sports WRC. Codemasters’ first rally game since DiRT Rally 2.0 will be revealed in a YouTube premiere this afternoon.
Before the announcement, World Rally Champion Kalle Rovanpera has revealed the EA Sports WRC cover art.
Kalle Rovanpera is EA Sports WRC’s brand ambassador
On X (formerly known as Twitter), 2022 World Rally Champion Kalle Rovanpera announced he is EA Sports WRC’s ambassador, just like Max Verstappen was F1 23’s ambassador. As such, expect the 2022 Toyota WRC driver to appear in EA Sports WRC (previously assumed to be called WRC 23) promotional materials.
In a video, the Finnish driver taking the road-going Toyota GR Yaris for a spin around Sardinia, Italy. We then get what appears to be a brief glimpse of EA Sports WRC gameplay with Rovanpera using a Fanatec CSL Elite Steering Wheel WRC and handbrake.
In 2022, Rovanpera became the youngest driver to win the World Rally Championship when he was 22 years old, ending French driver Sebastien Ogier’s dominance.
After musing about what it means for him to be the youngest driver in the world to conquer the WRC, Rovanpera holds up a PS5 copy of EA Sports WRC, giving a first look at the cover art.
Rovanpera’s Toyota GR Yaris Rally1 Hybrid stars on the cover kicking up a huge dust cloud, but Xbox Series X|S and PC covers are yet to be revealed. Past WRC games also featured different cover cars for each region, so EA Sports WRC may continue this trend.
Adorning the bottom of the cover is a WRC licensing logo and a “from the creators of DiRT Rally” icon. Surprisingly, Codemasters’ logo isn’t featured on the cover.
EA Sports WRC reveal time
After months of speculation, EA Sports WRC will be revealed today at 15:58pm in a YouTube premiere trailer, which will hopefully confirm the release date. Last week’s teaser also suggests we’ll see some gameplay, though it may be combined with CGI footage like F1 23’s announcement trailer.
According to reliable leaker billbil-kun, EA Sports WRC will launch on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on 3 November, with a Champions Edition offering early access starting on 1 October but this is yet to be verified by EA or Codemasters.