Dirt Rally 2.0 VR Gets VR Support After a Free Update
Codemasters announced early this year that it would be providing VR support for Dirt Rally 2.0. That update has finally gone live with Dirt Rally 2.0 being released for HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and Valve Index. You will now be able to go on your rally racing inside a proper virtual reality headset. The game is already live on Oculus Store and it also includes OpenVR support on Steam enabling players to leverage the virtual reality support from pretty much anywhere.
The virtual reality version of Dirt Rally was first released in February 2017 to the surprise of many avid racing fans. That version had a very high degree of realism and included numerous game modes. The successful virtual reality integration had made the rally racing game very popular with PlayStation VR and Oculus Rift headset owners.
Right from the start, it featured more than 46 vehicles drawn from more than four decades of racing. The game also featured a career mode, training tracks as well as multiplayer modes. The virtual reality support took the racing game to a whole new level of experience for avid racers.
Dirt Rally 2.0
The first Dirt Rally VR provided excellent immersion for users and the driving experience was also excellent so naturally, players would expect the same or an even better experience with its successor Dirt Rally 2.0.
DiRT Rally 2.0 was released in February 2019 without any virtual reality support which led to a massive outcry in the gaming community. Players have been putting pressure on the developers and publishers to provide VR support for the sequel. Players who had experienced the predecessor in VR mode wanted to continue along the same experience rather than return to the normal monitor gameplay.
Codemasters appears to have listened to those vocal pleas and has now gone ahead and released the virtual reality version of DiRT Rally 2.0 which will support Rift, Vive and Valve Index thereby making DiRT Rally 2.0 available to the PC version.
Codemasters has admitted that for many of its players, virtual reality is now the only way to play the game hence the move to offer a more broad-based VR support that will enable them to enjoy playing the latest version like never before.
Dirt Rally 2.0 is already available on Steam for Valve Index and HTC Vive. The Oculus Rift headset has not been listed among the compatible virtual reality headsets although the game is OpenVR compatible which means it should work well with Oculus Rift, the Windows Mizxed Reality headsets as well as the virtual reality headsets from Pimax. If you already have the game, the virtual reality support will simply come as a free update.
Dirt Rally 2.0 is also available on Oculus Store so users will be able to right race away using their Rift headsets. The Oculus version of the game also includes some extras such as the community challenges and the Oculus liveries on the race cars. The Oculus version may not, however, have complete content for Dirt Rally 2.0.
The latest patch notes confusingly list the Dirt Rally 2.0 as version 1.7. A new test drive location in the DirtFish driving school is also available and it will eventually hit freeplay in a future update of the game. The game also features four new liveries which are associated with DirtFish, enabling players to style their cars in new designs.
PlayStation VR Support Not Planned
A missing piece in the broader hardware lineup for Dirt Rally 2.0 VR is PlayStation VR support whose racers will still have to rely on the consoles rather than the PSVR virtual reality headsets. The first one had been a huge with PSVR owners but Codemasters has confirmed that it is not planning PSVR support for DiRT Rally 2.0 VR. The publisher has not provided any reasons for the lack of PSVR support.
