Codemasters is a storied studio that has a legacy of creating some of the most revered racing titles in the genre. Last year, Codemasters was purchased by Electronic Arts. After the purchase, EA said it would allow Codemasters to run as an independent entity under its umbrella, similar to how the studio Respawn Entertainment has acted since its acquisition by EA in 2017. At this year's EA Play Live event, Codemasters' first game since the acquisition, GRID Legends, has been revealed.
GRID Legends appeared among a number of other big announcements at EA Play Live, and was shown off with a reveal trailer as well as a brief discussion with Codemasters' senior designer. The game had a lot to show, with some great new features and a sprawling campaign mode. Many fans of the studio were curious to see how the acquisition by EA may impact the studio's games, and it already seems as though it has brought some big changes to GRID. With the game slated to launch sometime next year, there are likely even more ways that GRID will benefit from the EA acquisition as well.
The History of Codemasters
Codemasters was founded in England in the 1980s, where it started developing a wide range of titles for 8-bit consoles and computers. Over the years, Codemasters worked on a number of high-profile titles such as The Lord of the Rings Online and eventually expanded into publishing. Here, the company published titles like Overlord and Clive Barker's Jericho. In 2008, Codemasters acquired the rights to begin developing its immensely popular F1 series of racing games after Sony's deal with the company expired.
From there, Codemasters continued to release titles that were smaller in scope but sought to satisfy specific demographics of players. It released titles like Rise of the Argonauts, Fuel, and Bodycount. Meanwhile, the studio continued to produce yearly F1 entries as well as developing the Dirt and GRID series of racing games. Codemasters' name eventually became synonymous with racing titles across the industry. Eventually, Codemasters was approached by Take-Two for acquisition before EA ultimately out-bide Take-Two and acquired the studio for itself. The company was purchased for $1.2 billion, which served as a testament to the studio's reach and legacy throughout the games industry.
How EA Has Helped Grid Legends
Now, Codemasters has unveiled GRID Legends, and has given its fans a little taste of what they can expect from the newest entry in the series. What has been shown of the game thus far has shown that GRID Legends looks to expand the series in entirely new ways. The trailer showcasing the game featured a number of new classes of vehicles for players to learn and race with, as well as the ability for players to set up races with multiple classes of vehicles allowed. GRID Legends will also feature a campaign mode with Hollywood talent that follows the gripping story of a worldwide race tour.
One major aspect of GRID Legends that was discussed during EA Play Live was the extended-reality technology that the team was able to take advantage of thanks to the EA acquisition. The technology was developed on-set for the hit Star Wars show The Mandalorian. The technology uses LED screens to display the worlds and scenes on set that actors will be placed into in the final game, which allows them to be more immersed in the scenes and react according to their environment. GRID Legends is the first game to take advantage of the technology, and it will be very interesting to see what impact it has on the campaign mode. It is really great to see that the EA acquisition has already led to Codemasters being able to improve their games with new options and creativity. There are surely more ways the EA acquisition has impacted GRID Legends that fans won't know about until the game's release, but it will be interesting to learn what they are.
How EA Will Help Grid Legends' Release
EA's acquisition of Codemasters will also have a massive impact on GRID Legends' release. Codemasters' previous titles were focused on reaching smaller, more dedicated audiences, but EA's involvement will allow the game to reach the massive community of racing game fans across the industry. This will not only be possible through GRID Legends' increased scope, but also the considerable increase in marketing that EA brings to the table. EA's involvement with the game will also help GRID Legends reach players through programs like EA Play. Previous Codemasters game Dirt 5 experienced an increase in lasting player count thanks to being featured on Xbox Game Pass, so it seems likely GRID Legends will benefit similarly from these programs.
EA Play will also help GRID Legends reach new players through its feature that allows players to try new EA games for a couple of hours, sometimes even before the game has fully released. A program like that could do massive things to help the game attract players that don't have to pay anything extra. With EA Play being included with Xbox Game Pass as well, the number of players who will have the option to try GRID Legends for themselves at launch will be a huge opportunity for Codemasters.
EA's acquisition of Codemasters has a lot of potentials to set the game up for success, and there are a lot of exciting things that the development team is adding to the series with its newest entry. Codemasters found success with its campaign mode in F1 2021, so it will be interesting to see what the studio has learned from that experience and how it adapts for its newest campaign. Hopefully, players will get some more news on GRID Legends and all of its features sometime soon.
GRID Legends is scheduled to release in 2022 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
