CODEMASTERS® AND ESPN DELIVER ALL NEW X GAMES INTEGRATION EXCLUSIVELY FOR DiRT™2
Three new X Games competitions to offer ultimate glory in all-action
off-road racer
UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. – Thursday, July 23, 2009 – Codemasters®, a
leading developer and publisher of acclaimed racing video games, and
ESPN’s X Games, has announced an agreement that will see three all-new
X Games stages created and integrated exclusively in DiRT 2, the
sequel to the award-winning off-road racing title.
The three new stages – X Games America, X Games Europe and X Games
Asia – will carry official X Games branding and infuse added realism
by bringing the series’ unique action sports atmosphere to the game.
Players will be able to compete in the X Games events by reaching
landmark achievements within the game’s World Tour.
“With DiRT 2, Codemasters has captured the essence of contemporary
action sports racing, making the game a great platform to integrate
the X Games brand and the look and feel of its global events,” said
Rick Alessandri, ESPN Senior Vice President and Managing Director, X
Games Franchise. “We’re excited that millions of players will have the
opportunity to engage in the X Games environment both in the game and
online.”
“We’ve been inspired by the flair, style and big event atmosphere of
ESPN’s X Games series, which has switched on a new generation of
action sports fans to rally and off-road racing.” said Gavin Raeburn,
Senior Executive Producer, Codemasters. “It’s been incredible to work
with them to shape a series of exclusive X Games integrations for DiRT
2. Gamers will experience three major competitions that will make them
feel like they’re really arrived on the world’s premiere racing stage,
competing in front of thousands of fans in dramatic and spectacular
stadium events.”
The X Games events will be headlined by off-road racing’s most famous
and respected athletes including the multi medal-winning Subaru Rally
Team USA driver Ken Block, Dave Mirra, Tanner Faust and Travis
Pastrana. X Games 14 Rally Car Racing gold medalist, Pastrana competed
with the late Colin McRae at X Games 12 (2006) before going on to
feature in and lend his voice to the original DiRT game, published in
2007.
Each X Games event will consist of two knockout rounds (quarters and
semis) rounded off with a dramatic final held at spectacular locations
including London (X Games Europe), Tokyo (X Games Asia) and Los
Angeles (X Games America). The X Games America competition is
identified from the very start of the game as the pinnacle event in
DiRT 2’s racing world and the ultimate test for any off-road racer.
DiRT 2 will be shipping on September 8th in North America. The game
will be published for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment
system from Microsoft®, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system,
Wii™, Nintendo DS™ and PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system with a Games
For Windows® LIVE edition, supporting DirectX 11, to follow. Get ready
for the ultimate off-road competition online at
www.dirt2game.com
