If you’re into racing games you know that Codemasters is amongst the best studios when it comes to making one. They are responsible for games like DiRT, Formula 1, and GRID which were critically acclaimed and universally praised throughout the years. Now, it seems that the company is taking another step in order to secure its place as a top racing-game developer with the announcement about the acquisition of Slightly Mad Studios, a developer of Project CARS.
The news was announced on Codemasters’ website which states that the new agreement “cements Codemasters’ position as a world-leading game developer and publisher of racing video games and expands its portfolio to include the award-winning Project CARS, together with an unannounced Hollywood blockbuster title.”
It’s hard to argue with this statement since Slightly Mad Studios indeed know their stuff when it comes to racing. The company was founded in 2009 and throughout its 10-year spawn managed to make a couple of Need for Speed games together with EA and to crowdfund their own Project CARS, which received a sequel two years ago. Rumor has it that Slightly Mad Studios are currently working on a third game in the Project CARS series, which from now own will become yet another big racing franchise from Codemasters.
The press release also has a lengthy statement about the acquisition from Frank Sagnier, the CEO of Codemasters:
“We are delighted to bring such an incredible racing game developer to the Codemasters family, and this unequivocally establishes us as a global powerhouse in the development of racing titles. We share the same passion and vision and our new partnership will accelerate our growth. With more streaming services coming to market and the next generation of games consoles due in 2020, this is the perfect time for Codemasters to take its next step.”
One thing is extremely curious though. Some of you may remember Slightly Mad Studios trying to shift their focus into the hardware market with a “Mad Box” console announcement. However, after the company withdrew their trademark for the name of the console there was no other mention about the project. Maybe Codemasters decided to help up with that too?
