Gamescom 2020 is in full swing, and developers are stepping up to show players their A game. Today, KT Racing Studio showed off WRC 9, which will be its most realistic racing game to date.
Simulating real-world physics in any game is a challenge, and programmers have been trying to make cars work as expected for a long time. The 9th World Rally Championship has advantages over its predecessors in raw computing power thanks to improved hardware developed for next-gen consoles, which it needs to accurately recreate vehicle physics.
"It's beautiful, but very technical," says Alain Jarniou, Creative Director of KT Racing Studio, through the help of a translator. "We've always wanted to improve the simulation side of WRC, to try and recreate an authentic feeling of driving, and to be as realistic as possible." The studio went to such lengths as having programmers ride along in real rallies, so they could get a feel for the physics of the sport first-hand.
The studio also enlisted the expertise of real-world rally drivers to playtest the game with a standard steering wheel/pedal setup. The drivers found the controls comfortable, and as a result, they were immediately competitive against trained esports racers, meaning the line between being a good racing gamer and being a good racing driver has become blurrier than ever.
Players will be able to create a club and play their own custom rally championship with friends. The 16 maps for the WRC 9 rallies, sponsored by Toyota Gazoo Racing, are built to test the skills of drivers while immersed in rich landscapes like Kenya, Japan, and New Zealand. In proper rally fashion, there is very little pavement to be had in most maps, so off-road handling is a major factor. The game has weather effects similar to Project Cars 3, but WRC 9 boasts dynamic terrain such as dirt and gravel which will change traction based on real road conditions.
Codemasters is expected to take over the WRC franchise starting in 2023, but from the looks of WRC 9 the bar has been set high.
WRC 9 is planned to release September 3rd 2020 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X.