EA has confirmed on Twitter that it has acquired top UK racing game studio Codemasters. The acquisition for the studio behind F1, Project CARS, GRID, Dirt, WRC, and more, was worth $1.2 billion. This means that EA now owns the following prestigious video game studios; Codemasters, DICE, Respawn, EA Sports, Criterion and Bioware. Here’s a few choice words from EA executive vice president of strategic growth Matt Bilbey and Codemasters CEO Frank Sagnier via Games Industry.
“Our combined in-market expertise, along with our partnerships, our relationships, our insights, analytics and marketing intelligence capabilities at EA, are all industry-leading. And we see a tremendous opportunity to use these to expand the reach and potential of Codemasters’ amazing games.”
“We have a network of more than 430 million players who love great games, and some of the most exciting opportunities lie in the creative potential we see for our combined groups. Codemasters becomes part of a creative collective at EA, alongside DICE, Respawn, EA Sports, Criterion and Bioware, bringing with them fresh ideas, new ways of thinking, and a wealth of expertise that we can all share — and players will reap the rewards.”
EA executive vice president of strategic growth Matt Bilbey
“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.”
“As a combined group, Codemasters and EA offers a wealth of opportunities,” he says. “We can see some of these already but are most excited by what we don’t yet know is to come. Codemasters and our own studios are highly creative and innovative groups — how they work together will be driven by the creative and design decisions that enable us to make games.”
Codemasters CEO Frank Sagnier
Another one down the drain. When will this plague on the gaming world end !!!
When they file for bankruptcy or when the CEO gets involved in a serious scandal regarding money, women, and/or children.
To quote Phil from Hercules,
“There goes another one.”
Coincidentally, just like Disney and their buyouts, EA is another monster that needs to be stopped.