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Press release:
Lesquin, 19 March 2020 – NACON and its development studio KT Racing are pleased to announce “WRC 9“, the official video game of the FIA World Rally Championship.

After the success of WRC 8, WRC 9 has multiple improvements and new features for rally gaming fans. It will be available from September 3rd, 2020 on Xbox One, PlayStation®4 and PC from the Epic Games Store, and at a later date on Nintendo Switch.

NACON is also excited to announce WRC 9 is also being developed for Xbox Series X and PlayStation®5, with more details about release timing and features to be unveiled in the coming months.

NACON and KT Racing are also taking this opportunity to announce the continuation of their licensing agreement with WRC Promoter until 2022 for the development and publishing of WRC 10 and WRC 11.

With WRC 9, the passionate developers of the French studio KT Racing have pulled out all the stops to once again meet the high expectations of rally fans by providing even more realism and challenges.

An enhanced and more challenging Career mode
Hailed as one of the best Career modes in any racing game, WRC 8 was a hit with rally fans. It returns in WRC 9 with enhanced gameplay mechanics, new opportunities to upgrade your team, a wider variety of events and a stronger link to what the real-world championship teams are doing throughout the year.

Even more content
WRC 9 again includes extensive content with three new events added to the calendar – the return of Kenya’s iconic Safari Rally, Rally Japan and its challenging narrow asphalt roads, and the beautiful scenery of Rally New Zealand – as well as two other rallies with completely redesigned environments. Fans will also be able to take the wheel of new classic cars that have left their mark on the history of the WRC.

An even more realistic game experience
To improve and refine certain vehicle behaviours, the developers have again focused on the realism of car physics – including suspensions, braking and mass transfer – to take authenticity to the next level.

This attention to detail faithfully reproduces the vehicles’ responsiveness on all surfaces and in all conditions found in the real championship. A special focus on sound also provides deeper immersion.

In WRC 9, players are thrust into the heart of the new FIA World Rally Championship season with all content in the yearly calendar and much more:

3 new rallies: Japan, New Zealand, Kenya
Over 50 official teams and their livery from the WRC, WRC 2, WRC 3 and Junior WRC
Over 15 bonus cars that have left their mark on the history of the WRC

More details will be shared very soon!

WRC 9 will be available on September 3rd, 2020 on Xbox One, PS4™ and PC from the Epic Games Store. Release timing for Xbox Series X, PS5™ and Nintendo Switch will be announced at a later date.

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 8 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, enables it to innovate by creating new unique competitive advantages and achieve its ambition to become one of the world’s leading players in gaming. 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 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.

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 13 rallies spanning 15 countries and six continents. Additional championship information can be found at www.wrc.com and www.wrcplus.com.