After a successful jump to virtual reality last year on Oculus Rift, developer Codemasters is bringing the VR experience to the PS4 version of DiRT Rally. It will be available as a standalone retail game or via DLC for existing owners.
DiRT Rally is the best video game representation of the spectacular sport of rally driving in over a decade. Starting life as a PC-only game, Codemasters surprised everyone with their first attempt at creating an authentic simulation; a dramatic departure from their previous highly-accessible ‘arcade’ racers. The risk paid off, and the game eventually found its way to Xbox One and PS4, receiving critical acclaim.
Being cockpit-focused and containing realistically scaled stages and environments, the game was an ideal candidate for virtual reality, and the PC version received a comprehensive update in July last year, with support for the Oculus Rift [our review]. It was well-received, and remains one of the most exhilarating driving experiences currently available in VR.
According to the official blog, Codemasters is giving similar treatment to the PS4 version of the game, with support for the Sony’s PSVR headset. It will arrive in the form of DLC for existing players on the PlayStation Store, and via a new boxed version of DiRT Rally (with the VR update included) at retail. The update also adds a new feature, a novel co-driver mode for a second player, which makes use of PSVR’s ‘social screen’ output.
The wording of Codemasters’ statement suggests that this won’t be a free update for existing owners (Eurogamer is indicating it will cost £9.99 in the UK), and it also doesn’t confirm a specific release date.
We reached out to Codemasters again for any word on official Vive support, and there is still nothing to say on that front. It seems the development team are unable to justify the resources, and perhaps explains the decision to charge for the PSVR update. It was also likely a tougher challenge to optimise the game for PSVR compared to PC.
