Right at the start of the month, we brought news that EA had effectively given up on the WRC license, with developer Codemasters announcing that it was no longer working on the franchise. Well, just a few weeks later, ex-WRC publisher Nacon has announced that it's regained the license to work on future WRC titles once again.
Yep, the Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown publisher has signed a new deal to work on WRC games from 2027 through 2032. Given that Nacon previously published WRC titles from 2015 all the way through to 2023, this deal could easily be extended too - especially if the two parties are happy with where things are going.
Here's a quote from the team's new press release:
"We are thrilled to renew our collaboration with WRC Promoter. This iconic license provides an exceptional playground to build a highly refined driving experience that lives up to the expectations of rally fans,
Between 2015 and 2023, we had the opportunity to work closely with the championship’s official teams and many drivers, allowing us to gain solid and unique expertise in translating rallying into a video game experience. This new venture marks a major milestone: a fully reimagined project driven by a passionate and specialized team, with a clear ambition to elevate rally games to new heights."
Nacon's last franchise entry came in the form of 2022's WRC Generations, developed by French studio KT Racing. That dev has since released the aforementioned Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown — which is still being updated — and it'll be interesting to see if KT Racing will be back at the helm of WRC once again from 2027 onwards.
By the time Generations dropped, KT did have a pretty good hold of what to deliver with the WRC license, so Nacon regaining the license isn't exactly bad news here. However, we can't help but be a little disappointed that EA and Codemasters didn't give this more of a stab in the long run - especially given the team's steady success with the F1 series.