WRC 5 – eSports Competition Locked Behind DLC Wall


When Bigben Interactive and the world’s largest eSports company, ESL, announced that WRC 5 would be the first rally game to be featured in eSports, we were excited. However, it appears that this whole competition is locked behind a DLC wall. In other words, those interested in such a thing will have to buy one of the eSports Packs, otherwise they won’t be able to participate.

As the latest press release reads:

“Players just need to download one of the eSports Pack (the first DLC that is currently available is priced at $7.99/£6.49) to get access to the dedicated stages of each rally. From this moment, practise is unlimited but during the rally weekends, they will have only one opportunity each day to record their best time (from Thursday to Sunday noon). On Sunday afternoon, the ESL crew will invite the best drivers for a Sunday tournament which will be broadcast on Twitch. At the end of this Sunday Tournament, the best 3 drivers on each platform will gain their access to the semi-final and to the grand Finale. See the calendar below for more details.”

Needless to say that such a thing is ridiculous. And while the eSports Pack is priced at “only” $7.99, imagine such a thing happening in games like Street Fighter V or StarCraft II. Imagine if you were forced to buy a DLC in order to participate in such events.

As we’ve already said, ridiculous.

For what is worth,  the eSports WRC Championship for WRC 5 starts today, and is divided into two halves with 5 qualifying rounds and a semi-final for each half. The semi-finals will be played online during Rally Italia Sardegna (9 – 12 June) and Rally RACCCatalunya (13 – 16 October), right before the grand finale at Wales Rally GB, where the best 18 drivers will be invited to fight for the title.