After a year off in 2018, the official game of the World Rally Championship is coming back. Today Bigben Interactive and Kylotonn Racing have officially announced WRC 8.

As you’d expect given the name, this year’s game will include the full lineup of drivers and teams in the top-shelf rally class. That includes defending champion Toyota plus Citroen, Ford, and Hyundai. 2019 even sees legendary nine-time World Champion (and one-time Pikes Peak record holder) Sébastien Loeb return, this time for the Korean outfit.

In addition to the top class, WRC 8 will bring back the WRC2 and Junior WRC drivers and cars. New additions include “a few historic models”, which Bigben is promising to reveal in greater detail soon. We can think of a few icons…

The game will feature over 100 special stages across 14 countries, including the brand new Rally Turkey seen in the trailer above. Most tantalizing is the addition of a new dynamic weather system. Players will need to work with their team to ensure they have the most accurate info on what Mother Nature has in store. This, combined with improved physics, should make the rejigged career mode even more challenging.

In 2019, it wouldn’t be a racing game without an esports element, and WRC 8 will continue the tradition. The official WRC esport competition will kick off its fourth consecutive year this weekend with Rally Monte Carlo in WRC 7. Depending on the status of the game, 8 may be used before the end of the season…

An extra year off has given Kylotonn more time to focus on various aspects of the game. Not only is the dynamic weather coming, but the team promises smoother pace notes and even more technical routes.

We were big fans of the routes in particular in our WRC 7 review back in 2017. With the promise of even better routes, we’ll be keeping a close eye on the development of WRC 8 leading up to its September release on PS4, XB1, PC. And Switch — yes, really!

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