DiRT

The DiRT series began in 2007 under Codemasters as the successor to the Colin McRae Rally trilogy from 1998 to 2002, which had been among the defining rally simulations of its era and set the template DiRT would build on. The first entry, titled Colin McRae: DiRT, paid tribute to the original series' namesake, who died in a helicopter crash that same year - the last time the name Colin McRae appeared in the title. Compared with earlier entries it embraced a flashier visual style on the EGO engine, later shared with Codemasters' GRID and F1 series, dynamic weather, and a greater emphasis on spectacle, without fully abandoning its rally roots.

Subsequent entries pushed the series further toward arcade thrills, a shift that drew criticism from long-time simulation-minded rally fans even as the games commercially broadened the audience beyond core rally enthusiasts. DiRT 2 (2009) streamlined the handling, added exhibition events, and introduced locations from Malaysia to Croatia and Japan. DiRT 3 (2011) popularized the Gymkhana discipline in partnership with driver Ken Block, whose viral drifting and stunt-driving videos inspired the mode, and also added the RallyCross discipline. The spin-off DiRT Showdown (2012) abandoned rallying altogether in favor of pure arcade demolition derbies and arena racing.

Responding to that criticism, Codemasters returned to a more serious approach with DiRT Rally, which launched first through Steam Early Access in 2015 and fully a year later, with VR headset support - many reviewers and the sim-racing community regarded it as one of the decade's best rally simulations. DiRT 4 (2017) tried to bridge both camps, introducing the Your Stage track generator and the more arcade-oriented Joyride mode, while DiRT Rally 2.0 (2019) deepened the simulation line further, formed an official partnership with the World Rally Championship and World Rallycross, and added licensed teams and drivers.

The most recent mainline entry, DiRT 5 (2020), swung back toward arcade racing, emphasizing night races, ice tracks, the Playgrounds creation mode, a narrated career featuring hired actors, and expanded multiplayer including split-screen, before Codemasters, after being acquired by Electronic Arts, shifted its focus to the EA Sports WRC license. For most of its existence the DiRT series balanced between two camps of rally fans, and at a time when rival WRC-licensed games from other publishers were fading, it kept the rally genre alive on consoles and PC for years.