When Oculus Rift arrived in 2016 one of the best racing titles available came from videogame veterans Codemasters in the form of DiRT Rally. It still holds up well now, even so, an update wouldn’t go amiss. When the studio announced DiRT Rally 2.0 there was no mention of virtual reality (VR) support, that was until October last year when Chief Games Designer Ross Gowing said: “if there’s enormous demand for it then yeah we can do it.” Well, it looks like that has been the case, with Codemasters confirming a VR version last week.
We heard you. @Oculus heard you. DiRT Rally 2.0 + Oculus = this summer… #RisetotheChallenge pic.twitter.com/ZYefrplGL2
— DiRT (@dirtgame) February 8, 2019
As the studio stated in a Twitter posting, it was listening to VR fans, deciding to port the racing title. This also looks to have been aided by Oculus, with the company obviously realising it would be a massive boon for Oculus Rift to have DiRT Rally 2.0 on the headset.
Major studios don’t always tend to bring their bigger titles to VR because it doesn’t always make commercial sense. With the technology still fairly niche, the extra expenditure involved in porting to VR can’t always be recouped, possibly why Codemasters didn’t make DiRT Rally 2.0 VR compatible from the start. Which is why it seems plausible that Oculus came along with some cash to make the port a reality, and in the process gain a sizable exclusive for release this summer.
What has been detailed just yet is what form DiRT Rally 2.0 will take on Oculus Rift. Will the videogame be fully supported by the headset, so all modes, cars and extras are included? Or will it be a cut down version like Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown or Gran Turismo Sport, with specific modes and reined in features that deny access to the entire experience?
DiRT Rally 2.0 is scheduled to launch for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC on Tuesday 26th February 2019. It’ll feature six rally locations around the world and is the official videogame of the FIA World Rallycross Championship. It’ll feature cars from the 2018 season as well as eight of the official WorldRX circuits at launch, with players having access to a wide variety of both historic and modern day cars. The title will also include support for a massive range of driving peripherals for that authentic racing feel.
As further details regarding the VR version of DiRT Rally 2.0 are released, VRFocus will keep you updated.