For $1.2 billion, EA is purchasing Codemasters to lead the racing game market
- Tech Backbone
In a deal that may see the US publishing giant wrest hold over the racing video game genre, Electronic Arts has decided to buy out UK maker Codemasters. The transaction is scheduled to close at £ 6.04 (~$7.98) a share in the first quarter of next year, valuing Codemasters at about $1.2 billion.
Over the weekend, Sky News first revealed EA's interest in Codemasters, saying that the British company had already agreed to a $970 million contract with Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive, the owner of 2K Sports. The arrangement was confirmed by EA early Monday morning.
Established in the '80s, Codemasters is one of the oldest British game developers, making early successes like Dizzy for systems like the ZX Spectrum and the Commodore 64 that were popular in the UK. It has been best known in recent decades for developing driving games such as the Asphalt, Grid, and Formula 1 series, and the developer behind Concept Cars was purchased last year.
Of course, EA owns the Need for Speed franchise, so the inclusion of Codemasters will give it more leverage over a large chunk of the market for racing games. Sony's Gran Turismo and Microsoft's Forza series are the biggest rivals, all of which are unique to the respective platforms of their publishers.
"In a statement, EA CEO Andrew Wilson said, "We think there is a fundamentally persuasive potential to put Codemasters and Electronic Arts together to make amazing and creative new racing games for fans. "Our industry is growing, the category of racing is growing, and we will be positioned together to lead in a new era of entertainment in racing."
"Electronic Arts and Codemasters have a shared ambition to lead the category of video game racing," says Gerhard Florin, chairman of Codemasters. The Board of Codemasters strongly believes that the organisation will benefit from the experience, expertise and broad global reach of EA, both overall and directly in the racing industry. We hope that this union will provide Codemasters with an exciting and profitable future, empowering our teams to develop, launch and serve an incredibly loyal community with larger and better games.
