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Codemasters dishes on acquisition, expansion and forthcoming games
Codemasters employees worried about having to pack up their stuff and head for Bangalore should probably relax, as VP of studios Gavin Cheshire denied such plans in a Develop interview. After a recent 50 percent acquisition by Indian company Reliance Big Entertainment, worry apparently spread about the possibility of Codemasters relocating development to its new parent company's home country. "I can safely say that this is absolutely not the case," Cheshire said. "There are obviously some 'strategic' moves for both partners, but in terms of development at the level we're at, it's very much about Reliance investing in our skills and abilities over here in the UK." Let's hope Reliance is investing lots, as Cheshire spells out a whole mess of titles currently in development at the UK-based publisher's trio of development studios. "Our Guildford studio is working hard on Bodycount, and we will be looking to take that franchise further and further with the addition of more IP. In Southam it's full steam ahead with the next iteration in our Flashpoint series, as well as the next Dirt and Grid." Thankfully, with all those games in development, the publisher has a plan -- and an upcoming game engine, EGO 2.0 -- for helping to manage it all. "We are focused on EGO 2.0 at the moment, which will be coming in with a massive title that we can't talk about just yet. That will really keep us cutting-edge." Cutting-edge, you say? Figure skating sim confirmed?! We think so!
Indian company purchases fifty percent stake in Codemasters
While some gamers in the US may not be immediately familiar with Codemasters, we know our readers across the pond will immediately recognize them as the company with the rights to publish Lord of the Rings Online, Dungeons and Dragons Online, and (the "who-knows-when-it-will-release") MMO Jumpgate Evolution overseas. With that said, last year we heard that the COO at Codemasters, Tony Williams, decided to step down from Chief Organizational Officer. Not too long after that, there were rumors that Warner Brothers was looking into buying the company. Today, it seems that a company from India called Reliance Big Entertainment has pounced, and now owns a 50% stake in Codemasters. Apparently, Reliance Big Entertainment is very well known in India. It's subsidiary company, Zapak Digital Entertainment, owns the largest online gaming portal in the country as well. This gaming-specific company will be the one in charge of overseeing the investment in UK-based Codemasters. As to what this could mean for MMO gamers in the EU, we'll have to wait and see. Perhaps Reliance/Zapak will see fit to close the gap in differences from the Turbine-controlled version of Lord of the Rings Online. Or perhaps this new company will finally roll the Codemasters version of Dungeons and Dragons Online over to the same free-to-play model that has been such a huge success for Turbine in the States. No matter what, this is going to be interesting to watch. [via Joystiq]
Reliance Big Entertainment acquires 50% stake in Codemasters
Reliance Big Entertainment -- a subsidiary of Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group -- is a pretty big deal in India, handling a variety of different media and entertainment businesses in the region, including movies, sports, music, internet and video games. That last item is what's most important to this story, as Reliance now has a 50 percent stake in UK-based firm Codemasters, publisher of games like Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising, Dirt, Overlord and Grid. Zapak Digital Entertainment, Reliance's gaming division and India's largest gaming company, will oversee Reliance's investment in Codemasters. The company also runs an online gaming portal. "Reliance and Zapak have immense resources and will help us realize the full potential of our game coding and online excellence across so many platforms, and especially in the world's fastest growing markets," said Codemasters' CEO Rod Cousens. "The future of Codemasters has never looked brighter." [Via Develop]
Dark Void film adaptation announced
Preemptively cutting off complaints that it strays too far from the source material, Capcom has announced a film adaptation of a game you haven't played yet: Dark Void, next year's promising third-person shooter from Airtight Games. In line with the agreement reached between Capcom, Reliance BIG Entertainment and Brad Pitt's Plan B Entertainment production company, Dark Void is primed as a "sci-fi action franchise and potential starring vehicle for Pitt." While the parties involved decide whether or not the movie is indeed the Pitt's, someone should probably point out that as far as starring vehicles go, a jetpack is probably the best one. Players will beat Hollywood to the punch and experience it for themselves when Dark Void lands on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on January 19, 2010 in North America and January 22, 2010 in Europe. Congratulations to Crusty Magic on being the first to comment. You've been emailed a free Battlefield: Bad Company 2 beta code. Click here, for more information on this giveaway. Official rules apply.
