CODEMASTERS® ENTERS JUNIOR WRC CHAMPIONSHIP WITH LAUNCH OF DiRT RALLY TEAM

March 29th, 2021 by PJ Tierney

Jon Armstrong and Phil Hall Lead Charge for Junior WRC Crown

 

Codemasters® today brings DiRT to life with the launch of the ‘Codemasters DiRT Rally Team’. Comprising of Jon Armstrong and co-driver Phil Hall, the duo will make their debut appearance this April in the 2021 Junior WRC Championship (Junior WRC). The season starts in Croatia before heading to Portugal, Estonia, Belgium, and Spain. Additional support comes from Thrustmaster and the Royal Air Force for the 2021 season. (more…)

CODEMASTERS® EXTENDS SUPPORT OF GOVERNMENT MESSAGING IN DIRT 5™, DiRT RALLY 2.0™ AND GRID®

March 5th, 2021 by James Bralant

Codemasters® has, once again, partnered with the UK government and Public Health England to drive public awareness messages in DIRT 5™, DiRT Rally 2.0™ and GRID®.

‘Stay Home, Protect the NHS, Save Lives’ reiterates the continued importance of following guidelines wherever possible. The Better Health ‘Every Mind Matters’ campaign offers support for mental wellbeing through the Mind Plan. By answering five quick questions participants get a personalised action plan with practical tips to help deal with stress and anxiety, boost mood, sleep better and feel more in control.

Collaborating with Bidstack, geo-targeted banners are delivered in-game to UK players through its digital advertising platform. The ads replace text and images on trackside materials such as flags and billboards with mental wellbeing prompts developed by Public Health England, and the Stay Home message from UK government.

“We’re delighted to continue being able to support government messaging, whilst we look forward to lockdown easing,” said John Merchant, Marketing Director at Codemasters. “It’s great being able to use our games to direct players to mental wellbeing advice. Even if we can help just one person then this has been a worthwhile addition.”

“We’re really proud to be working with the UK Government, Public Health England and our partners Codemasters again to reach audiences that might not have engaged with these important messages across other media channels,” said James Draper, Bidstack’s CEO. “Delivering health messages, and particularly those around mental wellbeing in what is a trying time for many people, is something we are delighted our tech can offer. For those in need of support it has the potential to make a huge difference.”

For more information, please visit gov.uk/coronavirus, everymindmatters.co.uk, or search ‘Mind Plan.’

CODEMASTERS DRIVES HANDS, FACE, SPACE MESSAGING IN DiRT RALLY 2.0 AND GRID

December 17th, 2020 by James Bralant

Codemasters® today partnered with Bidstack and the government to promote the ‘Hands, Face, Space’ health messaging in DiRT Rally 2.0™ and GRID®. The messaging is part of the Government’s efforts to get the essential messaging into more homes during the Christmas period, and remind players of the importance of looking after themselves, their families and the wider community.

The initiative is the second between Codemasters, Bidstack, and the government, having partnered in April alongside other UK games companies to promote ‘Stay Home, Save Lives’. By using Bidstack’s in-game advertising platform, banners already in place within the virtual DiRT Rally 2.0 and GRID environments will carry Public Health England’s latest messaging with geo-targeted messaging for UK players.

“While there is now light at the end of the tunnel, it’s still important to continue to drive the latest ‘Hands, Face, Space’ messaging,” said John Merchant, Marketing Director at Codemasters. “The real-time ads will be seen by our UK players, and will help reinforce the messaging at a time where we all hope to spend a little extra time with our loved ones.”

“In a year that has been challenging for many, we are proud to be delivering this important message to gamers on behalf of Codemasters and the government,” said James Draper, Bidstack’s CEO. “Reinforcing the message to the gaming community in a way that doesn’t intrude on their experience is a fantastic way to raise awareness.”

DiRT Rally 2.0, released in February 2019, recently surpassed 7 million total players across multiple platforms. GRID launched in October 2019 and won the Best Racing Game at European video game expo, gamescom.

DiRT Rally 2.0 goes FLAT OUT with 9 Million Players

October 27th, 2020 by PJ Tierney

Today, Codemasters celebrates passing 9 million players who have taken to the driver’s seat in DiRT Rally 2.0. The ultimate rally simulation has been enjoyed by more players than ever before who have covered every inch of gravel, tarmac, snow and ice.

To celebrate the occasion, Codemasters looks at some of the significant stats created by the DiRT Rally community.

 

 

 

Distance Travelled

 

The 196 million completed Stages, plus Time Trials and Rallycross events have seen us go quite a long way. To date players have travelled over 1.5 billion kilometres or 981 million miles.

That’s the equivalent of a single trip from the Sun to Saturn or roughly 10 trips from Earth to the Sun.

 

 

Most Popular Locations

 

DiRT Rally 2.0 sees players travel the world, taking in 26 wonderful and challenging locations.

Hawkes Bay in New Zealand is the most popular place to visit, with its smooth gravel and banked corners helping tame even the toughest of rally cars.

The heated tarmac treat of Spain comes second, with the terrifyingly high-speed Poland in third.

 

 

Most Popular Rally Cars

 

DiRT Rally 2.0 features over 50 rally cars spanning the history of the sport, and the favourites are mixed across a wide range of classes. We have excluded the Lancia Fulvia HF as everyone gets that for free when they start playing.

The humble MINI Cooper S is the top pick as a great beginner’s car, with the powerful Volkswagen Polo GTI R5 coming up next.

Another Volkswagen, the Golf GTI 16V, is third just ahead of Colin McRae’s legendary SUBARU Impreza 1995 which comes in fourth.

Rounding out our top five is the Ford Fiesta R2, a modern front-wheel drive car which rewards those who push it hard.

 

 

Most Popular Rallycross Cars

 

Over in the world of Rallycross, it’s the World RX Supercars that our players are jumping into the most, with the Audi S1 EKS RX quattro the top pick, followed by the dominant Volkswagen Polo R Supercar.

For those not ready to take on the 600 horsepower those cars provide, the Volkswagen Polo S1600 comes up third.

The SUBARU WRX STI Rallycross is another fan favourite, with the RX2 car, the Ford Fiesta OMSE SuperCar Lites, completing the Top 5.

As with the rally cars we’ve excluded your free “starter car”, the Opel Corsa Super 1600, from this list.

 

Ross Gowing, DiRT Rally 2.0 Game Director, said:

“Whether players started in the MINI Cooper S, barrelled through Scotland in the Ford Fiesta R5 MKII or took on Timmy Hansen in the FIA World Rallycross Championship, we’re honoured so many players have driven with us.

On behalf of the team, I would like to thank them all for their continued support, and here’s to more great memories in the future.”

Tom Blomqvist wins World RX Esports Series Round 2

June 21st, 2020 by PJ Tierney

GT driver Tom Blomqvist defeated a high-class field of real-world racing drivers and special guests in the second round of the World RX Esports Series, held virtually at Norway’s Hell circuit in DiRT Rally 2.0.

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