The future of Codemasters' World Rally Championship team is unclear following EA's decision to "pause" the World Rally Championship series

Electronic Arts has announced a halt in the development of its World Rally Championship (WRC) series.

In an official statement, EA conveyed to its players that the ongoing journey with the WRC series has concluded with the release of their recent Hard Chargers DLC, marking it as the final update.

The statement further mentioned, "While we pause future rally titles' development, EA Sports WRC will remain available for current and new players alike. Our intent is for it to continue being a source of joy and excitement in rally racing. We have dedicated ourselves to this for fans and trust that the passion will persist."

The collaboration with WRC has been portrayed as the peak of EA's off-road racing saga with Codemasters, spanning decades and including games like Colin McRae Rally and Dirt. According to EA, they have fostered a community for rally fans, working hard to expand the limits and deliver the intense thrill of rally racing. They have collaborated with talented developers and sport icons, continuously sharing their enthusiasm for rallying.

The impact of this development pause on the Codemasters WRC team and potential future job cuts remains unspecified. EA has not provided a public response about staffing changes, and GamesIndustry.biz has sought clarification on this issue.

The acquisition of Codemasters by Electronic Arts occurred in 2022 for $1.2 billion. The Cheshire team within Codemasters originates from Evolution Studios, a team integrated into Codemasters in 2016 after Sony closed the studio.

On April 29, EA announced over 300 job cuts, with significant reductions in its EA Experiences team accounting for around 200 positions, and an additional 100 roles within Respawn Entertainment, the developer behind Apex Legends.

In the opening months of 2025, the gaming industry has seen 1800 job losses. These include layoffs and closures at several companies such as Freejam, Splash Damage, Piranha Games, Jar of Sparks, Ubisoft, ProbablyMonsters, Iron Galaxy, Sumo Group, Liquid Sword, NetEase Games, Toast Interactive, Night School Studio, Striking Distance, Ballistic Moon, Eidos Montréal, PlaySide, AppLovin, Nerial, and Reality Labs.