"It's a niche genre that requires a specialized physics engine"
That will be a big problem as EA tends to push all its companies to use the Frostbite engine.
That will be a big problem as EA tends to push all its companies to use the Frostbite engine.
I think the main show stopper here is that EA doesn't make niche game. They make games that will sell millions of units. So I highly doubt that they will develop a accurate Dirt racing game, they will do what they did with every franchise: Make the gameplay incredibly "accessible" but dumbing it down a lot. You will end up with another generic racing game with a slightly more slippery physics.
Madden is one of the better selling game franchise of all time with over 130 million copies sold. Despite this years Madden game being by far the worst reviewed Madden game in ages, it's still the 3rd highest selling game this year.
Globally or in the US?
So, yes, mostly in the US.
I used to work on Madden. Maybe this is non-obvious if you're not in the US, but it is hard to understate what a monumental cash cow that product is. It is like Excel is to Microsoft. It's a veritable firehose of money.
> really only popular in one country.
Sure, but that country has the third largest population in the world, and a greater GDP than the next two countries combined.
Dirt Rally, the rally sim, definitely is a smaller niche and the only one of its genre still under active development.
The rest of the Dirt series, which don't AFAIK share the physics engine with Dirt Rally, is much more mainstream.
Although I can't guess what the market size is for a racing game these days.
It's actually changing since Patrick Söderlund left and Respawn has been succesful at releasing games not on Frostbite ( Apex Legend, SW Jedi Fallen Order ).