We thought Take-Two was going to acquire Codemasters back in November last year, but by December, Electronic Arts (EA) had outbid its rival publisher. Now the acquisition is complete, and in return for $1.2 billion in cash, EA has a long list of well-known racing franchises to take advantage of.
“This is the beginning of an exciting new era for racing games and content as we bring together the talented teams at Electronic Arts and Codemasters,” said Andrew Wilson, CEO of Electronic Arts. “Racing fandom continues to grow worldwide, and the franchises in our combined portfolio will enable us to create innovative new experiences and bring more players into the excitement of cars and motorsport. Our teams will be a global powerhouse in racing entertainment, with amazing games for players on every platform, and we can’t wait to get started.”
EA is well-known for annual updates to its most popular sports titles, and it looks as though we can expect a similar approach for the Codemasters library of games. Regular new releases from the Formula 1, DIRT, DiRT Rally, GRID, and Project CARS franchises will be welcomed by many gamers as well as EA’s investors. There’s also the Esports potential of these games, with the Formula 1 Esports Series proving very popular already.
“Today is a landmark in Codemasters’ history, and an exciting day for our employees and players,” said Frank Sagnier, CEO of Codemasters. “The partnership with EA will enable our teams to take our highly-acclaimed franchises to new heights and reach a huge global audience through their player network. Together we can redefine the landscape of racing games to create even more compelling experiences for racing fans around the world.”
