Dirt 5 - What We Know So Far
The latest installment in the off-road racing series that started as Colin McRae Rally and morphed into Dirt is due out this fall, and it aims to advance the franchise by mixing extreme action, realistic graphics and its trademark innovation.
The game was announced during the May 2020 Inside Xbox event and is being developed by Codemasters Cheshire — a departure from the Southam team that created Dirt 4. That means you can expect a change in tone: more of an arcade style featuring real-world scenery affected by weather and a festival-like vibe. "Dirt 5 dares you — and rewards you — for being creative, stylish, and sometimes for being a straight-up lunatic," Chris Groves, Codemasters' community manager, said in an Xbox Wire post.
What do you need to know about the fourteenth game in the pioneering Colin McRae Rally lineup? Here are the details about its release date, trailer, and gameplay.
Does Dirt 5 have a release date?
Dirt 5 is scheduled for release in October 2020, although its U.K. Amazon listing still shows a placeholder date of December 31, 2020. You'll find two editions of the game available for pre-order now through Dirt's official site.
The Launch Edition is the standard game, and it'll run you $59.99. The Amplified Edition, which you can get digitally for PCs through Steam, is not available at retail. Buyers of the fully-loaded $79.99 version will get access three days early, with three ready-to-race cars already available: the Ariel Nomad Tactical, Audi TT Safari, and the WV Beetle Rallycross. You'll also receive three player sponsors, rewards and liveries, currency and XP boosts, and access to all post-launch add-ons to Dirt 5.
If you pre-order either of the editions, you will receive the Ford F-150 Raptor PreRunner by Deberti Design.
Does Dirt 5 have a trailer?
The official announcement trailer for Dirt 5 shows off some arcade-style action more reminiscent of Dirt 2 and Dirt 3 than the two games that followed (Dirt 4 and Dirt Rally 2.0). It sounds like it might have a pretty interesting soundtrack, too: they're racing to "Time to Dance (Sebastian Remix)" by The Shoes.
The locations do look stunning, and those lighting effects are pretty impressive. Microsoft says the title will feature more than 70 unique routes across 10 global locations affected by dynamic weather and the time of the day. These will include New York's East River in winter, the marble mines of Italy and the favelas of Brazil. Think gravel, snow, ice, mud, and everything in between.
Dirt 5 will include an iconic roster of cars and trucks. You can also expect an in-race Photo Mode to capture your exploits, and what Codemasters calls its "deepest ever livery editor," which will allow you to visually change up all vehicles. This will definitely allow for some creativity, if it's all it's touted to be.
Which platforms will Dirt 5 be on?
Dirt 5 is coming to Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and PC. It will also be released for Google Stadia in early 2021. Clearly, though, as shown by Codemasters' alliance with Microsoft, it's the Xbox releases that are getting the most attention.
It'll be optimized for Xbox Series X on 4K Ultra HD and utilize the Smart Delivery system, which allows you to play the game on either Xbox system regardless of which you purchased it for. Codemasters promises fast load times, innovative visuals, immediate responsiveness, and frame rates of up to 120 frames per second for the Xbox Series X release.
Just remember, if there are any delays in the release of the next-generation systems, that may also affect the release dates of those Dirt 5 versions. Right now, the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X are still slated for a "Holiday 2020" release, which is a rather big window that encompasses pretty much all of the year's fourth quarter.
What is the gameplay like in Dirt 5?
It's still early days as far as information about Dirt 5 is concerned, but Codemasters has revealed a few details.
There's going to be a robust narrative in the story-driven Career mode, featuring the voice talents of Troy Baker (The Last of Us) and Nolan North (Uncharted) and surprises from the car culture experts at Donut Media. In Career Mode, your goal is to become an international off-road racing star, and some familiar names from the automotive world, along with your own decision-making, will lead you there.
You'll be able to play co-op, compete through 12-player multiplayer action with objective-based modes or engage in four-player offline split-screen matches. Codemasters even promises a new mode, which Groves says is "something you have never seen before from the Dirt franchise." Hmm, intriguing!
Ultimately, though, it's all about the racing, and Dirt 5 aims to please when it comes to providing fast cars, detail-oriented environments, and multiplayer capabilities.