DiRT Rally 3.0: Is the franchise waiting for the WRC license?

DiRT Rally 2.0 is one of the defining rally sims on the market currently, and it's easy to see why.

The game boasts a large variety of in-game content for racing, and impressive physics and visuals.

However, it's been three years since the game was released and Codemasters has now ended updates for it, so fans are naturally turning to the potential of DiRT Rally 3.0. Let's take a look at what we know so far!

Latest News - DiRT Rally 3 reportedly cancelled

Speculation about DiRT Rally 3 ramped up last year when Codemasters posted job listings for its "most ambitious and biggest" AAA game yet. But according to a report by reliable insider Tom Henderson for Exputer, these job listings referred to the next World Rally Championship game.

The same report claims that DiRT Rally 3 was scrapped in late 2021. Going forward, Codemasters will reportedly focus on F1, GRID, and WRC, leaving the future of the DiRT franchise in doubt.

As of February 2022, DiRT's social media accounts on Facebook and Twitter have been rebranded as EA Sports Rally. We'll have to wait and see what the future holds for the DiRT franchise. But with Codemasters taking over the WRC license, a new DiRT Rally game looks increasingly unlikely.

DiRT Rally WRC?

Currently with Nacon and KT Racing, the WRC licence is coming over to Codemasters in 2023. The five-year deal will see Codemasters develop and release official WRC games from 2023-2027.

The WRC series has been growing in quality the last few years, with some of the most challenging and enjoyable gameplay on offer.

While WRC 10 delivers on the stages, it is in need of a career mode refresh. Which is just what Codemasters could provide.

With WRC2, 3, and Junior also in the game, it would be a perfect way for Codemasters to restart their sim rally series.

We'll have to wait until 2023 to find out how Codemasters, which is now owned by EA, plans to revitalise the WRC game series.