Announcing WRC World Final in Greece on September 7-8th

Lesquin, France, July 20, 2022 - NACON, KT Racing Studio, WRC Promoter, and EKOAcropolis Rally Greece are very pleased to announce the eSports WRC World Final presented by AGON by AOC that will take place in Greece on September 7 & 8, 2022. The best players will compete on WRC 10, the official game of the FIA World Rally Championship.

For the second consecutive year, the final will take place during the Acropolis Rally. The 8 finalists will compete in the heart of the Olympic complex, at the end of the regular season, which will end on August 15^th. Among them, Sami-Joe Abi Nakhle (Lebanon - World Champ 2020) who has already won 7 out of 11 rounds, and possibly Lohan "Nexl" Blanc (France - Triple World Champ 2017, 2019, 2021), who is competing to retain his title. The event will also host Race Clutch and other drivers from the reigning World Champion team.

Partners AGON by AOC, Playseat, Fanatec, and FlexIT will also be present for this 7th consecutive season, organized by NACON, KT Racing, WRC Promoter, and EKO Acropolis Rally Greece.

You can find the current general ranking via the following link: https://www.wrc.com/en/more/gaming/standings/

WRC 10 is already available on PlayStation®4, PlayStation®5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Steam PC, and Nintendo Switch™.

WRC Generations will be available from 13 October on PlayStation®4, PlayStation®5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and later on Nintendo Switch™.

Buy WRC 10 on Steam

Add WRC Generations to your Steam wishlist

About NACON

NACON is a company of the BIGBEN Group founded in 2019 to optimize its know-how through strong synergies in the video game market. By bringing together its 16 development studios, the publishing of AA video games, the design and distribution of premium gaming devices, NACON focuses 20 years of expertise in the service of players. This new unified business unit strengthens NACON's position in the market and enables it to innovate by creating new unique competitive advantages. https://corporate.nacongaming.com/

About Kylotonn

Created in 2006, Kylotonn is one the most important French video game development studios, also known under KT Racing label. Specialized in motorsports and official developer of the WRC FIA World Rally Championship series and Isle of Man Tourist Trophy, the company is internationally recognized for its know-how and for the passion of its teams. With more than 170 employees as of today in Paris and Lyon, Kylotonn has developed more than 30 titles distributed by major publishers. Kylotonn has forged itself a strong technological expertise thanks to the real-time 3D engine KT Engine that the company owns. At the forefront of the video game industry, this technology is also used within R&D partnerships on autonomous vehicle projects in the automotive industry. Since 2018, NACON, one of Europe's leading video game publishers, holds a 100% stake in the company. Kylotonn is member of the French National Developers Federation (Syndicat National du Jeu Vidéo) and Capital Games. The company is supported by BPI, IFCIC, and the Ministry of Higher Education, Research, and Innovation. For more information, visit www.kylotonn.com.

About WRC Promoter GmbH

WRC Promoter GmbH is responsible for all commercial aspects of the FIA World and FIA European Rally Championships, including TV production and the marketing of global media and sponsorship rights. It also has the responsibility to increase competitor numbers and to propose the venues that form the WRC and ERC calendars. WRC Promoter is the umbrella body for Rallycross Promoter GmbH, which is responsible for all commercial aspects of the FIA World and FIA European Rallycross Championships.

The World Rally Championship (WRC) is the FIA’s premium rally series. It showcases high-performance hybrid-powered cars and the world’s best drivers competing in dramatic surroundings, ranging from Sweden’s freezing winter to Kenya’s heat and rocky tracks. Participants battle for drivers’ and manufacturers’ titles at 13 rallies. More information can be found at www.wrc.com.

Article by: Susan N.

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New Free Historical Content Update in WRC 10!

Lesquin, France, November 25, 2021 - NACON and KT Racing are pleased to announce a second free update to WRC 10, the official FIA World Rally Championship video game, for PlayStation®4, PlayStation®5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Steam PC, and Epic Games Store. Available today on all platforms, this update brings new content, including a new car and new rallies.

The Acropolis Rally: an icon of the Championship returns.

This new free update adds one of the most iconic rallies in WRC: the Acropolis Rally. With winding and dusty mountain roads, sometimes on cliff sides, the Greek Rally is known to be particularly challenging for drivers. Returning to the official WRC calendar in 2021 after a 7-year absence, it was won by Kalle Rovanperä for his 2nd victory of the season! Already present in WRC 10 since the launch through a historical event, the update brings 3 special stages in 2021 version to the experience and also joins the game's Career mode.

Five new anniversary events.

As an anniversary edition of the championship, WRC 10 already offers a large number of historical and key events of the championship since 1973. After the 3 historical events added in October, five new events are now available in WRC 10! Famous driver and co-driver duos will compete in their cars of the time:

●     Rally Argentina in 1994 with Didier Auriol and Bernard Occelli in their Toyota Celica Turbo 4WD,

●     Rally Argentina in 2004 with Carlos Sainz and Marc Martí in their Citroen Xsara WRC,

●     Rally Germany in 2002 with Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena in their Citroën Xsara WRC,

●     the Safari Rally in Kenya in 2000 with Richard Burns and Robert Reid in their Subaru Impreza S5 WRC '99,

●     Rally Mexico in 2016 with Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila in their Volkswagen Polo R WRC.

“Club” mode gets more realistic.

In “Club” Mode, which allows players to create their own online events and championships, a realistic mode is now available to add an extra layer of difficulty. This mode allows you to carry over the damage inflicted on the vehicle to the next stage, to place one or more service parks (and to impose a mandatory passage to a service park in order to equip the car with appropriate tires when the road surface changes between two stages), and finally, the stages are played in one shot and cannot be replayed.

WRC 10 is now on PlayStation®4, PlayStation®5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and on Nintendo Switch™ at a later date.

Add WRC 10 to your Steam wishlist

About NACON

NACON is a company of the BIGBEN Group founded in 2019 to optimize its know-how through strong synergies in the video game market. By bringing together its 14 development studios, the publishing of AA video games, the design and distribution of premium gaming devices, NACON focuses 20 years of expertise at the service of players. This new unified business unit strengthens NACON's position in the market and enables it to innovate by creating new unique competitive advantages. https://corporate.nacongaming.com/

About Kylotonn

Created in 2006, Kylotonn is one of the most important French video game development studios, also known under KT Racing label. Specialized in motorsports and official developer of the WRC FIA World Rally Championship series and Isle of Man Tourist Trophy, the company is internationally recognized for its know-how and for the passion of its teams. With more than 110 employees as of today in Paris and Lyon, Kylotonn has developed more than 25 titles distributed by major publishers. Kylotonn has forged itself a strong technological expertise thanks to the real-time 3D engine KT Engine that the company owns. At the forefront of the video game industry, this technology is also used within R&D partnerships on autonomous vehicle projects in the automotive industry. Since 2018, NACON, one of Europe's leading video game publishers, holds a 100% stake in the company. Kylotonn is a member of the French National Developers Federation (Syndicat National du Jeu Vidéo) and Capital Games. The company is supported by BPI, IFCIC and the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation. For more information, visit www.kylotonn.com.

About WRC Promoter GmbH

WRC Promoter GmbH is responsible for all commercial aspects of the FIA World Rally Championship, including TV production and the marketing of global media and sponsorship rights. The Promoter also has the responsibility to increase the field of participants and to propose the venues that form the FIA WRC calendar. The World Rally Championship is the FIA’s premium rally series. WRC showcases authentic motorsport, high-performance cars, and the world’s best drivers competing in dramatic surroundings ranging from the ice and snow of Scandinavia to the blistering heat of Italy in mid-summer. Established in its current format in 1973, WRC participants battle for the drivers’ and manufacturers’ world titles at 12 rallies spanning four continents. Additional championship information can be found at www.wrc.com.

Article by: Susan N.

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WRC 9 - PS5 Review

WRC 9 FIA World Rally Championship by developer Kylotonn and publisher Nacon—Sony Playstation 5 Review written by Pierre-Yves with a copy provided by the publisher.

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Back last September I was treated to perhaps one of the most interesting racing simulators that I had ever tried with Kylotonn and Nacon's WRC 8 for the XB1. Having released a year later around the same timeframe, WRC 9 took to both the PS4 and the XB1. With the launch of the newest PS5 and the Xbox Series X though, I was really curious on how both how the sequel holds up and how well the DualSense's haptic feedback changes the feeling from the traditional rumble that we've all used for so long.

One of the aspects that really stood out to me when loading up WRC 9 on the PS5 was simply how damned pretty it was. I know that the newest consoles are capable of a lot more, but between Bright Memory for the XBSX last week and now WRC 9 for the PS5, true high end graphics are finally in my hands as my laptop’s 1060 could never bring me this close to capitalizing on my Samsung QLED’s 4K HDR optimization. I’ve truly felt like a kid on Christmas and wished my father was still around to see these jumps in technology as he was constantly surprised just how far video games have come. Seeing what I saw especially between a dark and stormy night or Sweden's bright snow field, he would have loved to sit back and watch this.

It’s not just graphically though. Load times are damned near non-existent where I once had the chance to get up and go grab something in between, now? Now you make sure what you have as you just don’t have to wait from the time that you’ve set things up with your team as to what you’re going to do next. Hiring staff, setting up your schedule for training, racing, or resting, all of those are done in a minimalist office-like environment to make it go faster so that you can go back outside and really do what you’re here for. Driving really fast on off road tracks while trying not to destroy your car and keep your sponsor on their good side.

I remember the first times taking to the track in WRC 8 and feeling like I was doing fairly badly as I was both trying to figure out a driving style that I’ve never done with the pathways called out to you, while simultaneously trying to measure just how much pressure to put on the gas or the breaks to make those turns… and failing spectacularly. I had loads of fun, but my career went nowhere fast. Knowing what I was in for though made the entry a little smoother this time around but it’s also due in part to how sensitive the new DualSense controller felt to me over my Elite Series 2 for the Xbox. Racing through dirt, mud and snow at 50-120km/h, I felt like I had so much more control when easing into or out of higher speeds. Even drifting felt more controllable and I wasn’t always ending up in damn near last place, which for the record, is great for morale.

Now perhaps the one thing that I truly enjoyed above all else was the sensation coming from my controller while racing around. It’s extremely hard to explain, but there’s a sheer difference between the rumbling features of old and the haptic feedback of the DualSense. Part of me not having issues this time around comes from the fact that I already knew what I was in for. The other? I think it was the controller as you can feel from one end of the controller to the other how your car is handling the road below it. It’s wild. The bumps, the smoothness, the nitro boosts at the back right hit my palm making me jump the first time wondering what happened. But feeling how your car is handling had an automatic reflex on slowing down a bit if it felt too rough or speeding up if it was feeling really smooth.

Between the graphics and the controller, there’s one more aspect that I felt simply steals the show for the immersion and surprisingly, it’s the lack of music. There’s a ton of music while you’re in the menus and getting ready for the races but the second you actually start revving up the engine while holding onto that handbrake, the audio dips so that the only thing that you can hear is the sound of the motor purring and the sounds that come from how your wheels hit the ground on every bump or how relaxed they feel on a smooth service. Hours went by and I hadn’t even noticed which is the mark of a great design.

Sometimes... sometimes... it's that close...

I honestly hadn’t expected to be blown away this much from simply one version down the line. Would I be interested in seeing how it works off of the PS4? I’ll be honest, no, if for the only reason that I don’t want to shatter the amazing image that I currently have of it from the high end graphics being displayed and the crazy new controller that has been put into our hands. It looks and feels roughly the same while it’s “off”, but once it’s been connected to the game and to the developers whims? It creates something new all of its own.

Summary

So if like me you had skipped WRC 9 as you had enjoyed or are still enjoying WRC 8, I would honestly suggest taking a look at WRC 9 on the PS5 if you’ve already made the jump. From the solid off-road driving mechanics to the graphics and the sounds, this is one that I’ll be coming back to often enough if not to get better, then just to have fun.

Score: 9 / 10

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TT Isle of Man Ride on the Edge 2 - PS4 Review

TT Isle of Man Ride on the Edge 2 by developer Kylotonn (KT Racing) and publisher Nacon (Bigben Interactive)—Sony PlayStation 4 review written by Pierre-Yves with a copy provided by the publisher.

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

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TT Isle of Man Ride on the Edge 2 is the latest realistic racing simulator from Kylotonn and publisher Nacon who most of you would still know better as Bigben Interactive. Given a motorcycle and the license to drive over 200/kmph, you'd better learn how to handle those speeds fast otherwise you'll be finishing in last place.

If there's one thing I've learnt in the past year is that I suck at real world simulators. WRC8 while a lot of fun to tackle was tough in its own right as you needed to follow directions from your copilot. But Edge 2? You're given guided lines but it's figuring out how fast to take them, when to lean into a turn and when to hit the brake that's going to be the real challenge. That said, it's a good thing then that Edge 2 is very accessible. Given a quick tutorial and how to ride, the final decision on how you want to drive is up to you. There are five different styles from the most basic and hand holding to the most advanced that only pros would want to use. Honestly I spent my time on "help me get through this in one piece" and the semi-pro which while it still helps you out, makes you rely more on yourself than the training wheels.

And the above is the very aspect for me that makes me enjoy these types of experiences. They are new, they are fresh. Sure, once upon a time I mastered Pod Racer, Mario Kart “Insert whichever one you want” and say Mod Nation Racers. But more realistic simulators like this one bring a whole new challenge to the table and with the more realistic approach, you can’t do what you’re generally accustomed to doing in games. You really have to stick to the road. Not take the corners too fast or you’ll flip over. You’ll crash. Being on a motorcycle this time around if you accelerate too fast you’ll wipe out backwards because your front wheel lifted, throwing you off and costing you even more time in the race. Learned that one the hard way…

All of the woe is me aside, this game is gorgeous. The landscapes. The bikes. The sound of nothing more than your motorcycle cutting through small towns and open roads. Edge 2 looked fantastic and I’ve never been happier than to have both a PS4 Pro and a QLED television as that visual as you are coming up a hill with a setting sun? Fantastic. It’s not just about the visuals though. Edge 2 handles very well and while there are some longer initial load times, the overall performance is there and there’s never any choppiness or framerate drops which would honestly be the biggest detriment to an experience like this one.

 

So other than riding your motorcycle, what do you actually do? So like a lot of these more realistic experiences, there’s a schedule for upcoming qualifiers and races that you can take part in. Qualifiers will have you race against others in terms of time as you’ll all leave one after another while races you’ll all leave at the same time and actually race to get #1. Both are pretty much the same “mechanically” and should be taken seriously enough as if you’re not getting into good spots or winning the races, you aren’t going to be able to buy upgrades to your bike or even new bikes anytime soon.

Otherwise, there’s a large map available to either practice on yourself or to go through a series of challenges that are laid out before you. These challenges are really where I started to learn to really ride and figure things out as I went back up to the semi-pro settings taking off the training wheels that had finally let me keep other racers in sight. Having this giant map to ride on I think was possibly one of the biggest and most important features in terms of accessibility as it lets someone learning the ropes and someone who’s brand new figure things out without the frustration of flunking another qualifier or losing another race.

 

While realistic simulators like TT Isle of Man Ride on the Edge 2 may not be for everyone, I would suggest at least checking it out if you’re interested in something new and different. Amazing in the visuals department, there’s an accessibility to the entry that curbs that steep learning curve that would otherwise exist allowing people not familiar with the style to get just as much enjoyment as those riding up near the top and looking for new challenges that the latest entry provides.

 

Score: 8 / 10

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Behind the Scenes of WRC 8

Lesquin, France, August 29, 2019 – With just a few days before release, Bigben and KT Racing are pleased to share the latest glimpse behind the scenes of WRC 8, the official video game of the FIA World Rally Championship. Through two Dev Diaries, KT Racing's Art Director, Amaury Beyris, and Physics Designer, Jérémy Lolieux, shed some light on the game's level design and physics.

WRC 8 | Replicating Reality - Physics Dev Diary

In the first video on level design, Amaury Beyris details each step in the process of creating a rally. From referencing the database to achieve a 1:1 scale, to recreating landmarks, each detail is crucial for reproducing the look and feel of special stages and rallies. To increase player immersion, WRC 8 also includes the unique terrain features and weather conditions of each country, which realistically affects the driving, car set-up, tyre choice and much more.

In the second video, Jérémy Lolieux talks us through some of the major physics improvements in WRC 8 compared with the previous edition. After collaborating with Citroën Racing engineers and rally drivers, the developers were able to redesign and refine the physics engine for most aspects of the car: transmission, differentials, turbo, grip, suspensions and tyre behaviour, etc. By working all these elements into the game and creating more predictable driving behaviour, players can enjoy an ultra-realistic experience and more intuitive control of the car.

This is the most complete and authentic official WRC simulation ever made. New off-road physics for all surfaces, a completely redesigned Career Mode, extreme and dynamic weather conditions, 52 teams, 14 countries, over 100 special stages, weekly challenges and an eSports mode... Experience the most intense WRC yet!

WRC 8 will release the 5th of September 2019 on PlayStation®4, Xbox One and PC and in November on Nintendo Switch™.

Find us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.

About Bigben

Bigben is a major video game publisher, designer and distributor of mobile phone and gaming accessories as well as audio products. The group, recognised for its innovation and creativity, aspires to become a European leader in each of the sectors it is active in. www.bigben.fr

About Kylotonn

Created in 2006, Kylotonn is one the most important French video game development studios, also known under KT Racing label. Specialized in motorsports and official developer of the WRC FIA World Rally Championship series and Isle of Man Tourist Trophy, the company is internationally recognized for its know-how and for the passion of its teams. With more than 100 employees as of today in Paris and Lyon, Kylotonn has developed more than 25 titles distributed by major publishers. Kylotonn has forged itself a strong technological expertise thanks to the real-time 3D engine KT Engine that the company owns. At the forefront of the video game industry, this technology is also used within R&D partnerships on autonomous vehicle projects in the automotive industry. Since 2018, Bigben Interactive, one of Europe's leading video game publishers, holds a 100% stake in the company. Kylotonn is member of the French National Developers Federation (Syndicat National du Jeu Vidéo) and Capital Games. The company is supported by BPI, IFCIC and the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation.

For more information, visit Kylotonn’s website: www.kylotonn.com and follow the news on social networks Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and Youtube.

About WRC Promoter GmbH

WRC Promoter GmbH is responsible for all commercial aspects of the FIA World Rally Championship, including TV production and the marketing of global media and sponsorship rights. The Promoter also has responsibility to increase the field of participants and to propose the venues that form the FIA WRC calendar.

The World Rally Championship is the FIA’s premium rally series. WRC showcases authentic motorsport, high performance cars and the world’s best drivers competing in dramatic surroundings ranging from the ice and snow of Scandinavia to the blistering heat of Mexico. Established in its current format in 1973, WRC participants battle for the drivers’ and manufacturers’ world titles at 14 rallies spanning 16 countries and five continents. Additional championship information can be found at www.wrc.com and www.wrcplus.com



Article by Susan N.

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