Without a doubt, EA Sports WRC and DiRT Rally 2.0 are the two heavy hitters in modern rally titles. But interestingly, our community question last week showed that you prefer the older title - so we look at why our community still loves DiRT Rally 2.0.
On paper, it should be a clear win for EA Sports WRC versus DiRT Rally 2.0: It is newer, has the 2023 and 2024 WRC seasons plus plenty of historic content on board, has longer stages and more choice for locations - and yet, things not always as straight-forward as one might think.
In a previous article on this subject, there were ample conversations in the comments about which sim is best. The poll that was attached showed that a larger percentage of those readers preferred DiRT Rally 2.0 over WRC. In that article, we looked at both title's reputations as well as their features. Here is why DiRT Rally 2.0 is the preferred rally sim over WRC according to our community.
Poll Results
EA Sports WRC: 31%
DiRT Rally 2.0: 57.4%
Other Titles: 11.6%
M-Sport Ford in EA Sports WRC. Image: EA Sports
The car choice is nicely balanced across both titles, however, contemporary cars are where WRC shines. DiRT Rally 2.0 has an almost endless list of DLC cars that cost as little as €2 that spice up the car list. The base game list is also impressive so regardless of which sim you prefer you get a nice variety.
Junior WRC class. Image: EA Sports
WRC has a big lead on DiRT Rally 2.0 when it comes to stages and rally lengths, as mentioned in the previous article. However, a lot of the community was more interested in how it feels to drive these stages and how these titles handle them, of course.
The WRC fans love the variety in stages, whereas the DiRT Rally 2.0 fans appear to prefer the driving feel of their sim and are willing to sacrifice up-to-date cars. The other big issue is the EA anti-cheat that so many people oppose, so much so that they have uninstalled the game entirely or cannot start it anymore.
Citroen C4 sideways in Sweden. Image: Codemasters
Before comparing the graphics, let's take a look into the system requirements to run both of these titles at a good framerate without sacrificing the graphical detail. OverTake user Rodger Davies explained his experience with WRC and why he prefers DiRT Rally 2.0 very eloquently in the comments section of the community question article:
Below is a table comparing the recommended hardware for running these two rally simulators. Rally is one of the hardest disciplines of motorsport for your computer to run and process because it requires loading data for just a few seconds at a time as you fly through a dense Australian forest or along a high-speed Polish backroad.
System requirements on Steam as of October 2024
Starting with WRC, the recommended system requirements are much more equipment-heavy compared to DiRT Rally 2.0. This may be down to the fact that WRC is over four years newer than its competition, however, DiRT Rally 2.0 does not let itself down graphically, so which one is better?
It all comes down to what you want from your sim. If you have a lower-end computer and a loss of graphical detail is inevitable, I would recommend going with DiRT Rally 2.0. However, if you love licensed content and want to drive your favourite WRC cars in amazing detail, EA Sports WRC is the way to go in this match-up.
OverTake user, RayMy, described his experience with WRC on his hardware:
Opel Kadett C GT/E Image: Codemasters
The issues are within the licensing of the two titles. WRC focuses on real-life WRC cars and teams, so having rallycross in the title does not make much sense from a licensing perspective. However, that is where DiRT Rally 2.0 shines. You can race on eight official circuits from the FIA World Rallycross championship, complete with licensed cars and support series.
Peugeot 205 T16 Rallycross. Image: Codemasters
To further DiRT Rally 2.0's dominance within Rallycross, there is an entire career mode centred around the mode with its licensed circuits and cars. This sets the title apart from its competition and is the obvious choice for new and experienced players who have tried rallycross in something like Project Cars 2 or iRacing and want to try a licensed version of this crazy racing discipline.
Overall, the split of content and quality is healthy and there is a solid fanbase for both titles. DiRT Rally 2.0 came out on top in our poll, but that does not mean that you should stop playing WRC. Play what you enjoy playing and what you get the most enjoyment out of - which is key to sim racing happiness, after all.
With the poll showing DiRT Rally 2.0 was more popular, what would you want to see added or removed from EA Sports WRC in the future to catch up with its competition? Let us know in the comments below!
On paper, it should be a clear win for EA Sports WRC versus DiRT Rally 2.0: It is newer, has the 2023 and 2024 WRC seasons plus plenty of historic content on board, has longer stages and more choice for locations - and yet, things not always as straight-forward as one might think.
In a previous article on this subject, there were ample conversations in the comments about which sim is best. The poll that was attached showed that a larger percentage of those readers preferred DiRT Rally 2.0 over WRC. In that article, we looked at both title's reputations as well as their features. Here is why DiRT Rally 2.0 is the preferred rally sim over WRC according to our community.
Poll Results
EA Sports WRC: 31%
DiRT Rally 2.0: 57.4%
Other Titles: 11.6%
M-Sport Ford in EA Sports WRC. Image: EA Sports
Content
The main topic of conversation and debate in the comments section of our previous article was the content differences between the two titles, and Richard Burns Rally as well.The car choice is nicely balanced across both titles, however, contemporary cars are where WRC shines. DiRT Rally 2.0 has an almost endless list of DLC cars that cost as little as €2 that spice up the car list. The base game list is also impressive so regardless of which sim you prefer you get a nice variety.
Junior WRC class. Image: EA Sports
WRC has a big lead on DiRT Rally 2.0 when it comes to stages and rally lengths, as mentioned in the previous article. However, a lot of the community was more interested in how it feels to drive these stages and how these titles handle them, of course.
The WRC fans love the variety in stages, whereas the DiRT Rally 2.0 fans appear to prefer the driving feel of their sim and are willing to sacrifice up-to-date cars. The other big issue is the EA anti-cheat that so many people oppose, so much so that they have uninstalled the game entirely or cannot start it anymore.
Citroen C4 sideways in Sweden. Image: Codemasters
Graphics & System Requirements
The graphical differences between WRC and DiRT Rally 2.0 are obvious in some places, but very slight in others. There are certainly some big surprises, and the older DiRT Rally 2.0 is certainly not to be dismissed - neither are the struggles of WRC related to the Unreal Engine it uses.Before comparing the graphics, let's take a look into the system requirements to run both of these titles at a good framerate without sacrificing the graphical detail. OverTake user Rodger Davies explained his experience with WRC and why he prefers DiRT Rally 2.0 very eloquently in the comments section of the community question article:
Below is a table comparing the recommended hardware for running these two rally simulators. Rally is one of the hardest disciplines of motorsport for your computer to run and process because it requires loading data for just a few seconds at a time as you fly through a dense Australian forest or along a high-speed Polish backroad.
System Requirements
| Hardware | EA Sports WRC | DiRT Rally 2.0 |
|---|---|---|
| Operating System | Windows 10 or 11 | 64bit versions of either Windows 7, 8 or 10 |
| Processor | AMD Ryzen 7 3700X Intel i5 10600K | AMD Ryzen 5 2600X or Intel Core i5 8600K |
| Memory | 16 GB RAM | 8 GB RAM |
| Graphics | Nvidia RTX 2070 Radeon RX 5700 XT | AMD RX Vega 56 or NVIDIA GTX 1070 |
| DirectX | Version 12 | Version 11 |
| Storage | 110 GB available space + SSD recommended | 100 GB available space |
| VR | OpenXR, Meta Quest 3, Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest Pro, Valve Index, Oculus Rift S, Oculus CV1, HTC Vive | SteamVR or Oculus PC |
| Sound Card | DirectX Compatible | DirectX® Compatible soundcard |
Starting with WRC, the recommended system requirements are much more equipment-heavy compared to DiRT Rally 2.0. This may be down to the fact that WRC is over four years newer than its competition, however, DiRT Rally 2.0 does not let itself down graphically, so which one is better?
It all comes down to what you want from your sim. If you have a lower-end computer and a loss of graphical detail is inevitable, I would recommend going with DiRT Rally 2.0. However, if you love licensed content and want to drive your favourite WRC cars in amazing detail, EA Sports WRC is the way to go in this match-up.
OverTake user, RayMy, described his experience with WRC on his hardware:
Opel Kadett C GT/E Image: Codemasters
Rallycross
Whilst being a point of conversation not related to the core disciplines of both games, Rallycross is a much-loved discipline amongst rally fans like OverTake users JorritVD and Alexandre Costa. The lack thereof in WRC is a major sticking point for a lot of players who were considering switching from DiRT Rally 2.0.The issues are within the licensing of the two titles. WRC focuses on real-life WRC cars and teams, so having rallycross in the title does not make much sense from a licensing perspective. However, that is where DiRT Rally 2.0 shines. You can race on eight official circuits from the FIA World Rallycross championship, complete with licensed cars and support series.
Peugeot 205 T16 Rallycross. Image: Codemasters
To further DiRT Rally 2.0's dominance within Rallycross, there is an entire career mode centred around the mode with its licensed circuits and cars. This sets the title apart from its competition and is the obvious choice for new and experienced players who have tried rallycross in something like Project Cars 2 or iRacing and want to try a licensed version of this crazy racing discipline.
Overall, the split of content and quality is healthy and there is a solid fanbase for both titles. DiRT Rally 2.0 came out on top in our poll, but that does not mean that you should stop playing WRC. Play what you enjoy playing and what you get the most enjoyment out of - which is key to sim racing happiness, after all.
With the poll showing DiRT Rally 2.0 was more popular, what would you want to see added or removed from EA Sports WRC in the future to catch up with its competition? Let us know in the comments below!
