It’s been confirmed that Codemasters, the developer behind some of the leading racing simulators, has been acquired by EA incorporated
According to Business Wire, EA has paid in the region of $1.2 Billion after piping 2K to secure the much sought after studio.
“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.”
This merger will mean EA now has the most popular racing games under its banner, both on console and PC but also the highly popular mobile racer, Real Racing. EA will essentially be the home of every major racing game including the annual F1 game, DIRT, DiRT Rally/WRC, GRID, Project CARS – all from Codemasters – in addition to Need For Speed.
Speaking about the merger, CEO of Codemasters, Frank Sagnier said: ” 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.”
So, now that EA has acquired Codemasters, what do you think the future holds for their racing franchises? Will we see micro-transactions out the wazoo? Or will Codemasters still have the final say as to what goes into their games?