Codemasters is one of the premiere names when it comes to racing video games. Codemasters has produced some of the most critically-acclaimed and popular racing games of the last decade, going head-to-head with franchises like Electronic Arts' Need for Speed. But now Codemasters may actually find itself developing a Need for Speed game of its own, as it has been confirmed that EA has agreed to acquire Codemasters for a whopping $1.2 billion. Barring any unforeseen issues, EA will officially acquire Codemasters at some point in early 2021.
EA's acquisition of Codemasters is a big deal, as it will greatly expand the company's catalogue of games. Codemasters has the rights to a wide range of IP that EA could use to bolster its own lineup in any given year, and that could very well may be the company's plan. This will go a long way in ensuring that EA games are a more consistent presence throughout the year, and will give the company a boost in another key area as well.
The acquisition of Codemasters should give the EA Play subscription service a significant boost. Theoretically, this means EA could add all of Codemasters games to EA Play, which will mean a ton of new content for subscribers. This should enhance EA Play's value, potentially bringing in new subscribers as well as keeping others from dropping their subscriptions. It should be an especially appealing prospect for sports and racing game fans, as EA Play comes with a host of other benefits, like early access trials, discounts, and much more.
For those wondering about some of the biggest games that will now fall under the EA umbrella after the Codemasters acquisitions, and what will potentially becoming to EA Play, here are the most noteworthy franchises from the studio.
Dirt
Perhaps one of the most notable franchises that EA will now have control over post-Codemasters acquisition is Dirt. The Dirt franchise has been one of the racing genre's most popular in recent years, with Codemasters ensuring that the series was ready to debut alongside the next-gen PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X consoles. Like its predecessors, Dirt 5 earned relatively strong reviews from critics and has proven to be yet another hit for racing game fans.
F1
The F1 video games have been some of the highest-rated racing games for the better part of a decade. The most recent entry in the long-running racing game series, F1 2020, has an impressive 88 rating on review aggregate site OpenCritic, which in turn makes it one of the highest-rated sports/racing games of the entire year, not to mention one of the highest-rated games of the year, period. It's unclear how exactly the F1 licensing will work with the EA acquisition, but assuming Codemasters can continue making F1 games, EA should have a consistently popular racing game franchise on its hands.
Grid
Grid is another one of Codemasters' long-running franchises, with the company releasing a reboot just last year. The Grid reboot wasn't quite as well-received as some past games in the series, but it certainly has its fans and is yet another strong new game for EA's library. The Grid games will also prove useful for EA Play, as there are a number of titles in the series that could potentially be added to EA's subscription service over time.
Overlord
While the vast majority of Codemasters' games are racing titles, the company has dabbled in other genres as well. Most notably, Codemasters released a series of fantasy games called Overlord, which were mostly well-received by gamers and critics. The Overlord games are action games with a unique gimmick where players are able to give orders to minions in order to complete tasks and fight enemies. The latest game in the series, 2015's Overlord: Fellowship of Evil, was unfortunately critically-panned, so fans shouldn't necessarily see it make a comeback post-EA acquisition. That being said, it wouldn't be surprising to see the main series Overlord games make their way to EA Play at some point.
This is especially true for the first Overlord and its sequel, Overlord 2, as those games have become cult classics of sorts, often hailed as two of the most underrated and overlooked titles of the PlayStation 3/Xbox 360 era. Again, EA Play is always going to be in need of new content, and while EA can provide plenty of that content itself, having other titles to fall back on will certainly ease its burden.
Project CARS
Slightly Mad Studios has produced three entries in the Project CARS series, each one earning generally positive reviews from critics and proving to be popular in their own right. Codemasters acquired Slightly Mad Studios back in November of 2019 for a cool $30 million, giving it the rights to all of the company's franchises, including Project CARS. Codemasters' Slightly Mad Studios acquisition made it a racing game juggernaut, and now EA's acquisition of Codemasters in turn will give the mega-sized company yet another premiere racing game franchise to call its own.