Codemasters has revealed some bad news for DiRT fans, but tempered it with what could be very good news indeed. The publisher has taken to its official blog to announce that DiRT Rally 2.0 is coming to the end of its final special stage, but that something new is on its way very soon.
News that DiRT Rally 2.0 is at the end of its cycle, with another game in development, is unsurprising. Since the first title with the name, Colin McRae Rally: Dirt back in 2007, there’s been a Dirt game every two years like clockwork. 2.0 arrived in February 2019, and since then has seen four seasons of additional content and the recent Colin McRae Flat Out pack.
Even though development is coming to an end, Codies is still promising a few more “updates and surprises” for DR2. Clubs, scheduled challenges, and esports are all still on the calendar too.
Whilst one journey remains FLAT OUT, another journey is about to begin.
A letter to our incredible DiRT Rally 2.0 players: https://t.co/Lh49hfjnu9
Now, prepare for something… different. ⚡ pic.twitter.com/6Uavy84d9B
— EA SPORTS WRC (@EASPORTSWRC) May 4, 2020
What’s next? Well, we’re not exactly sure. The blog post is a little on the cryptic side, but it looks to be a new title related to, yet not part of, the DiRT Rally series.
While the post does refer to the future of the DiRT Rally series, it also says that you won’t hear about it for a while. However the new project is something developed by a separate Codemasters studio to the team that works on the DiRT Rally series, yet also part of “the world of DiRT”.
There’s a few possibilities for what this could be. It may be a mobile title, which explains the need for a different studio within Codemasters, or something less stage-based in the mold of Spintires or SnowRunner (albeit more car-oriented). It may also be a successor to DiRT Showdown, the only title released outside the aforementioned two-year cycle.
One other possibility involves the lightning bolt emoji in the teaser Tweet. It may suggest something with electrified or electric powertrains, such as something based on the Extreme E off-road racing series.
Whatever it is, Codemasters promises it’ll be “a brand new experience”, and we should hear more “very soon”.
