It was a hotly contested category, but DiRT Rally [Review: 9/10] easily drove away with the racing game of the year award in UploadVR’s ceremony a few weeks back. Now it’s arriving on another headset.
Developer Codemasters is bringing the previously Oculus Rift-exclusive racer to PlayStation VR, it announced on Twitter today. As with the PC version, you’ll be able to tackle the entire game inside the headset with a first-person cockpit view.
DiRT Rally is coming to PlayStation VR! Strap on your headset – it’s going to be a bumpy ride. https://t.co/hPi784jraN pic.twitter.com/7T3tgUaPwF
— DiRT (@dirtgame) January 12, 2017
But here’s the really interesting bit: PS VR support will not arrive as a free update for exisiting DiRT Rally owners. Instead, it will launch as premium DLC at £9.99/$12.99, and those that don’t own it yet will be able to pick it up either as part of a bundle on the PlayStation Store or as a limited boxed version at retailers.
Before you flip that table, though, there’s one more thing. The DLC includes a brand new two-player co-op mode using the PS VR’s Social Screen feature. With a DualShock 4 in hand, the second player will take on the role of a co-driver. From the sounds of it they can use buttons to send directions to the player in-game, though we also really like the idea of them being able to call out hard lefts and sharp rights in real life.
Does this new mode justify the price for support? DiRT Rally comes with free Rift support over on Steam (and, obviously, on Oculus Home). But this wouldn’t be the first game to charge for VR support; The Vanishing of Ethan Carter charged for its VR DLC when it launched last year.
Despite adding PS VR support, Codemasters told UploadVR that it still has nothing to announce on the HTC Vive front in terms of official integration.
We called DiRT Rally “the new high water mark for VR racing games” when it launched on Oculus Rift last July. “It never shies away from the challenges of this new medium and consistently offers creative solutions to maintain both its functionality and its sense of fun,” Joe Durbin wrote in our review. “DiRT is able to remind you at every turn just how exciting, surprising, and enjoyable racing simulators in VR can truly be.”
PS VR owners have something to be excited for soon, then. The DLC is expected to drop within the next few weeks, though no final date has been given.
