Fate of Codemasters WRC team uncertain as EA “pauses” World Rally Championship series
Electronic Arts is “pausing development” of its World Rally Championship (WRC) series.
In a statement to players, the publisher said, “Every great journey eventually finds its finish line, and today, we announce that we’ve reached the end of the road working on WRC,” and confirmed its recently-released Hard Chargers DLC will be its last.
“For now, we are pausing development plans on future rally titles. Rest assured, EA Sports WRC will continue to be available for existing and new players,” the statement added. “We hope it remains a source of joy, excitement, and the thrill of rally racing. We’ve poured our hearts into making it for fans, and we know you’ll keep the passion alive.
“Our WRC partnership was a culmination of sorts for our Codemasters journey with off-road racing, spanning decades through titles like Colin McRae Rally, and Dirt. We’ve provided a home for every rally enthusiast, striving tirelessly to push the boundaries and deliver the exhilarating thrill of driving on the ragged edge. We’ve brought together incredibly talented racing developers, worked with some of the sport’s icons, and had the opportunity to share our love of rallying.”
It is not clear how this “pause” will impact the developers working across the franchise, or if yesterday’s redundancies preemptively included any potential job losses at its Codemasters WRC team. As EA has not commented publicly either way, GamesIndustry.biz has reached out for clarification.
Codemasters was acquired by Electronic Arts in 2022 in a deal worth $1.2 billion. The Cheshire team was originally formed by the remnants of MotorStorm developer Evolution Studios, which joined Codemasters in 2016 after Sony decided to shut the studio down.
EA cut 300+ jobs just yesterday, April 29, with 200 or so redundancies across its EA Experiences team, and another 100 in Apex Legends developer, Respawn Entertainment.
In the first four months of 2025 alone, 1800 developers have lost their jobs, with cuts and closures at Freejam, Splash Damage, Piranha Games, Jar of Sparks, Ubisoft, ProbablyMonsters, Iron Galaxy, Sumo Group, Liquid Sword, NetEase Games, Toast Interactive, Night School Studio, Striking Distance, Until Dawn remake developers, Ballistic Moon, and – most recently – Eidos Montréal, PlaySide, AppLovin, Nerial, and Reality Labs.
