After McRae's death in September 2007, Codemasters used his name one more time in Colin McRae: Dirt 2, dropping the moniker for Dirt 3. The McRae name was used again in 2013 in a mobile release. In June 2020, Codemasters acquired the exclusive license to the World Rally Championship series, beginning a five-year deal in 2023.
Colin McRae Rally (1998), the first title in the series, was released for PlayStation and Microsoft Windows in January 1998 in the United Kingdom and September 1999 in the United States. It featured real cars and drivers from the 1998 World Rally Championship season, with Colin McRae's Subaru Impreza on the game's cover. In Novice mode, three stages per rally were each followed by a Service Area, allowing players to adjust the vehicle to different conditions and repair damage.
Colin McRae Rally 2.0 (2000) featured the works-entered cars and rallies of the 2000 World Rally Championship. New features included Arcade mode with head-to-head competition against AI drivers or another player, and a cleaner menu system retained through subsequent releases until Dirt 2 in 2009. The game was a bestseller in the UK and received a score of 9.4/10 from IGN. An iOS version was released in June 2013.
Colin McRae Rally (2001) was the first handheld entry in the series, released for the Game Boy Color in Europe. It was developed by Spellbound Entertainment, published by THQ, and features 2D graphics.
Colin McRae Rally 3 (2002) was the first game in the series released for the Xbox as well as PlayStation 2, featuring rally cars from the 2002 World Rally Championship. A GameCube version was announced but cancelled. IGN ranked it the 91st best PlayStation 2 game.
Colin McRae Rally 04 (2003) carried no official WRC team license; all car liveries were either fictitious or drawn from championships other than the WRC.
Colin McRae Rally 2005 (2004) offered over 70 stages across nine countries and more than 30 cars. It introduced a revised graphics and damage engine enabling paint scratches and a blurred-vision effect on heavy impacts, plus a new career mode starting in club leagues and progressing to compete with Colin McRae in his 2004 Dakar Rally Nissan pick-up. An OS X version titled Colin McRae Rally Mac was published by Feral Interactive and released on 26 October 2007, six weeks after McRae's death. Development faced challenges from Apple's switch to Intel Macs and internal changes at Feral. Mobile versions were produced: an N-Gage title by Ideaworks3D and a J2ME title by IOMO published by Digital Bridges; both were nominated for BAFTAs in their respective mobile/handheld categories.
Colin McRae: Dirt (2007) was announced at E3 2006 for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. It was released on 15 June 2007 in Europe and 19 June in North America for Windows and Xbox 360; the PlayStation 3 version followed on 14 September.
Colin McRae: Dirt 2 (2009) was unveiled in November 2008 and released in September 2009 for PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Wii, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS, and Microsoft Windows. Built on an improved version of the Ego game engine, it also featured a comprehensive online mode. The game was dedicated to Colin McRae, featuring videos and a special tournament in his honour.
Dirt 3 (2011) was released in May 2011 without the Colin McRae name in its title.
Dirt: Showdown (2012), described as an arcade-style spin-off, was released on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 in May 2012.
Colin McRae Rally (2013) shares its name with the 1998 original but uses content and a driving model taken directly from Colin McRae Rally 2.0. Released on iOS in 2013, it was ported to Windows, OS X, and Android in 2014.
Dirt Rally (2015) focused on rallying simulation. It was announced on 27 April 2015, released into Steam early access the same day, and reached full release on 7 December 2015. PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions followed in April 2016.
Dirt 4 (2017) was announced in January 2017 and launched on 9 June 2017 for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One.
Dirt Rally 2.0 (2019) was announced in September 2018 and released on 26 February 2019, continuing the simulation focus of Dirt Rally as opposed to the accessibility emphasis of Dirt 4.
Dirt 5 (2020) was announced in May 2020 and launched in November 2020 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X, with a Google Stadia release in March 2021.
In 2021, Codemasters announced entry into the Junior WRC season as the "Codemasters Dirt Rally Team", later rebranded "EA Sports Rally Team" in 2022 following Electronic Arts' acquisition of Codemasters. In 2022 it was suspected that work on Dirt games had been suspended to develop a new WRC-licensed title. On 1 September 2023, EA Sports confirmed the next game would be titled EA Sports WRC, with a full reveal on 5 September and a release on 3 November 2023.
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