Colin McRae Rally and Dirt
racing video game series by Codemasters
Dirt and Dirt Rally (stylized as DiRT and DiRT Rally, formerly known as Colin McRae Rally), is a rally racing video game series developed and published by Codemasters. Codemasters had acquired the exclusive license to the World Rally Championship series in June 2020, which began as a five-year deal in 2023.
Started in 1998, the franchise has been a critical and commercial success and is generally acknowledged as a pioneer of realistic rally sports racing games. The series is named after the World Rally Championship driver Colin McRae, who provided extensive technical advice during development.
After McRae's death in September 2007, Codemasters used his name one more time in Colin McRae: Dirt 2, dropping the moniker in Dirt 3. The McRae name was then used once again in 2013 in the mobile release of Colin McRae Rally.
In 2021, Codemasters has announced entry into the 2021 Junior WRC season as "Codemasters Dirt Rally Team", which was later rebranded in the 2022 Junior WRC season as "EA Sports Rally Team" on behalf of EA Sports, as a result to Electronic Arts' acquisition of Codemasters.
Games
Colin McRae Rally (1998)
Colin McRae Rally, the first title in the series, was released for the PlayStation and Microsoft Windows platforms in January 1998 in the United Kingdom and in September 1999 in the United States. The game featured real cars and drivers from the 1998 World Rally Championship season. Colin McRae's Subaru Impreza was featured on the game's cover.
“Colin McRae Rally and Dirt” enters the record as racing video game series by Codemasters. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Colin, McRae and Rally can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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