The game focuses on two disciplines: stage rallying and rallycross. Players compete in timed stage events across tarmac and off-road terrain in varying weather conditions. At launch, stages were set across six locations — Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, Poland, Spain, and the United States — with downloadable content later adding Finland, Germany, Greece, Monte Carlo, Sweden, and Wales, bringing the total to thirteen locations. The DLC stages are remastered versions of locations from the original Dirt Rally.
A rallycross mode features World RallyCross Supercars based on the 2018 season lineup and eight circuits from the FIA World Rallycross Championship. The overall car roster reaches fifty vehicles, spanning historic rally cars from the 1960s through the 1980s, Groups A, B, and R machinery, modern rally cars from the 1990s to the late 2010s, and the World RallyCross Supercars. Every car can have its setup adjusted before an event.
A new weather modelling system dynamically affects grip levels and visibility as conditions change during a stage. Surface degradation is simulated through more than 100 layers tracking road-surface wear: as more cars complete a stage, the surface breaks up, progressively reducing grip. The game has no rewind function. Damage carries both visual and mechanical consequences, and cars can sustain "terminal damage" — an automatic DNF ending the event immediately.
Tyre strategy forms a meaningful layer of the gameplay: softer compounds offer more grip but wear faster, while harder compounds are slower but more durable. Damage accrued during a rally event carries over from stage to stage within the event.
The "My Team" management mode introduced in Dirt 4 is expanded, requiring players to hire specialist engineers to maintain the car between stages. Some features from earlier entries — livery customisation, sponsor signing, and expanding team facilities — were removed. Codemasters later added a more comprehensive car-setup tutorial to lower the barrier for new players.
Dirt Rally 2.0 was the first entry in the series developed without game director Paul Coleman, who left Codemasters in early 2018. Rally drivers Ryan Champion and Jon Armstrong served as development consultants, with occasional input from Oliver Solberg. Veteran co-driver Phil Mills provided the English-language co-driver voice, and Neil Cole voiced the rallycross spotter. Following the audio approach used in other Codemasters titles, the team recorded separate tracks of intake, exhaust, turbo, supercharger, transmission, and cabin noise from both inside and outside each real vehicle included in the game.
DLC was released on a fortnightly schedule, returning locations from the original game alongside additional cars including the Skoda Fabia and BMW M1. The final DLC package, titled "Colin McRae: Flat Out", added a new location in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, a selection of cars driven by McRae during his career, and a scenario mode inviting players to recreate moments from that career — functioning as a tribute to the legendary Scottish rally driver.
Dirt Rally 2.0 received generally favourable reviews according to Metacritic. On OpenCritic, the game was recommended by 90% of critics, reflecting broad approval for its commitment to simulation-level rally and rallycross racing.