EA Sports WRC's Jon Armstrong and Ross Gowing on unlocking cars, esports, and more (Exclusive)

Ahead of EA Sports WRC’s launch, we spoke to Jon Armstrong (Game Designer, Rally Car Driver) and Ross Gowing (Senior Creative Director) about the development of the game itself. Rally racing is intense to watch, and it’s clear that a great deal of work has gone into this upcoming title. We asked the developers about the potential for esports, how cars will be unlocked, and some of the interesting mechanics that are coming to the game itself.

EA Sports WRC has the potential to be the most realistic rally title of all time, from its visuals to how the cars handle on these wild, offroad tracks. Perhaps the most exciting part, though, is having access to all the game’s cars at launch without a grind - except in career mode, of course.

Both Jon and Ross took the time to answer our questions, going into detail on what makes the game worth investing time into this November.

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Ross Gowing and Jon Armstrong discuss the ins and outs of EA Sports WRC

Q. Thanks for taking the time to chat with us. Can you introduce yourselves to our audience and your roles in EA Sports WRC?

Ross Gowing: I’m Ross Gowing, and I’m the Senior Creative Director for the WRC Development Team.

Jon Armstrong: My name is Jon Armstrong, and I am a Games Designer on EA Sports WRC, as well as a Rally Driver in real life.

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Q. What makes the WRC-style racing games more intense and exciting compared to other track-based racing games?

Ross Gowing: Rallying is a unique form of motorsport because crews are constantly facing the unknown, and that’s something we’ve always worked hard to capture in our games.

As a driver, you have to listen carefully to the co-driver’s pace notes to understand what is ahead of you on the stage, manage any damage your vehicle has taken, and do all of this while trying to set the fastest time possible.

Jon Armstrong: The diverse terrain that you face in rallying makes it such a challenge and ultimate adrenaline rush. You have to jump your car through the air, use the handbrake to navigate tight turns, listen to your co-driver for detailed instructions on the course ahead, and much more. It’s about chasing perfection in the most demanding scenarios you will encounter as a driver.

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Q. EA Sports WRC is going to feature the advanced Dynamic Handling System, but what does that mean for gamers?

Ross Gowing: It’s something we’ve worked towards with the aim of more people being able to get the most out of our game. Whether you’re a veteran sim racer or a newcomer to rallying, our handling can be adjusted to whatever you want.

If you’re a brand new player, then we have a suite of assists and helpers that you can layer onto the game to give you the best chance of making it down a stage.

But if you’re already experience behind the wheel, then you can switch the whole lot off and be as close as possible to to being in a rally car without having to leave your sim rig or sofa.

Jon Armstrong: As Ross mentions, we have really focused on providing a full range of assists for new players to get to grips with rallies in EA Sports WRC. Our core physics model is an evolution of the popular DiRT Rally 2.0 system, with improved force feedback and fidelity, giving the player more detail than ever before.

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Q. How do the systems in EA Sports WRC build upon Codemasters’ previous work on the DIRT Rally franchise?

Ross Gowing: Our gameplay and physics teams have reworked the tarmac handling from DiRT Rally 2.0. It was something we knew we wanted to do after listening to all the feedback our community gave us last time around. We further enhanced the fantastic setup we already had for gravel and dirt.

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Q. As a WRC driver yourself, Jon, what does it mean to you to be working on this latest particular title?

Jon Armstrong: I’ve been a massive fan of rally games my whole life. Since picking up the original Colin McRae Rally at five years old, I have been hooked. Being able to join the same team at Codemasters, who are responsible for CMR and all of the DiRT titles, is a dream come true.

Using my real-world experience, I am able to play a unique role in the development of EA Sports WRC, which is extremely rewarding and something I am really enjoying.

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Q. EA Sports WRC is also introducing Builder Mode, which allows players to hand-craft their own modern Rally Car. How much research and work went into making sure players can create true-to-life Rally Cars?

Ross Gowing: Last time I counted, it involved nine or ten internal departments to bring it to life, and I’m sure I’ll have missed someone from that list! It has taken several years of researching it, talking about it, and then actually designing and building it, with a lot of changes in people’s workflows, to get to where we wanted to be.

M-Sport World Rally Team was very generous with their time and expertise for any questions we had. The mode has ended up as something the entire studio is really proud of and something we can’t wait for players to get their hands on.

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Q. EA Sports WRC also features “Moments.” How is that going to work, and what do you think will make it special?

Ross Gowing: Every 24 hours, we’ll drop a new gameplay scenario or ‘Moment’ into the game. These will be a mixture of challenges from history, things that have happened in the current WRC season, or just things that we think are great fun to play.

They’ll be ‘bitesize’ in the same way that our Daily Challenges were in DiRT Rally 2.0, but this time around, they won’t disappear again. Each one is teed up by a video snippet. There’s a really easy-to-understand goal and medal system, as well as leaderboards, for players to pitch themselves against.

Jon Armstrong: Moments is just a brilliant mode. You’ll be able to relive some of the most iconic moments from the WRC’s 50-year history. There are some that are based on various events from my career. So, it will be awesome to see players take to the wheel of my car and relive moments that defined my career.

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Q. Do you think there’s a market for WRC Esports, especially when considering the realism of the upcoming EA Sports WRC?

Ross Gowing: I think there’s a big market for it. Jon was actually the WRC Esports World Champion in 2018, which I know helped raise his profile and opened up a few opportunities for him in the world of rallying.

It’s a pathway we’re seeing more and more across the world of motorsport. I think it’s fantastic that the first steps a future world champion might take could be in our game.

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Q. EA Sports WRC will feature an incredible number of cars spanning the FIA WRC’s history. How will these be unlocked in-game?

Ross Gowing: All are available to play on launch day with no unlocking required. So, whether you want to dive right in and get behind the wheel of the current season’s Rally1 cars or take a trip back through history and drive an iconic classic, you can do all that.

The only place we slightly restrict you is in the Career, where you’ll have to manage your budget and the size of your team’s garage.

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Q. What’s the future of EA Sports WRC? What sorts of DLC are coming for the game? Will there be any free updates and content coming to it?

Ross Gowing: We’ll be adding Central Europe Rally, PC VR (via OpenVR), and Esports as free updates. Then, we have our VIP Rally Pass Seasons 1-5 as paid content for players to be able to earn and unlock additional cosmetic items. All other content is included in the price of the game and immediately playable.

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EA Sports WRC launches on November 3, 2023, on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Microsoft Windows platforms. It boasts 78 of the greatest rally vehicles of all time across 17 official FIA World Rally Championship locations. You can learn more about the upcoming title here.