Dirt Rally 2 was announced by Codemasters in late September. The game will not have VR support at launch, but Codemasters has said that it might come down the line. Dirt Rally 2 VR support could come if there is great demand for headset support.
Codemasters revealed the details in a livestream that has since been archived. Ross Gowing, chief games designer at Codemasters, spoke about VR support.
“[VR] is something that we’re listening to everybody’s comments and all of the things the community have to say about it,” he said. “We are all ears, and if there’s an enormous demand for it then yeah, we can do it. It’s no small undertaking but if its what people want, then we’ll try to get it done.”
Other details about the game came about from that livestream. The game will have tire wear, and tire selection available to players. Track layouts are based on real world locations, with data pulled from satellite imagery and photos from race tracks. Codemasters had a team scout locations to accurately depict them in-game for Dirt Rally 2.
Dirt Rally has a VR mode, and that mode is available on PSVR and Oculus Rift. Dirt Rally VR came about half a year after the game’s release in 2015. Dirt Rally 2 VR could come in a similar time frame after the game’s release next year.
Dirt Rally 2 will be releasing on February 26, 2019 for the PS4, Xbox One, and PC. The racing game is geared toward simulating real rally racing. Along with the new tire choices there is terrain deformation, weather effects, vehicle wear, and more in the games. Dirt Rally 2 focuses on the hardcore fans of rally racing.
Codemasters has been developing rally-based racing games since 1998’s Colin McRae Rally. That game spawned the Colin McRae series that evolved into the Dirt series, which includes the Dirt Rally titles. Mainline Dirt games have a greater emphasis on accessibility, while the Rally titles push for hardcore simulation.
