EA may soon own the publisher behind some of VR’s biggest racing games.
The videogames giant has bid $1.2 billion to acquire UK-based Codemasters. Codemasters specializes in driving games, including annual entries in an official F1 series and the Dirt franchise. In November 2019 Codemasters acquired Slightly Mad Studios, developer of VR-compatible racing series, Project Cars. The company also implemented VR support into both its Dirt Rally spin-off games.
Most recently, Slightly Mad put out Project Cars 3, which was published by Bandai Namco. We thought the game made a decent attempt at making the series more accessible to all.
EA’s offer reportedly outbids an offer of nearly $1 billion from Take-Two, owner of Grand Theft Auto maker, Rockstar Games. The offer will be decided on in a shareholder vote, with hopes for the acquisition to be completed next year.
EA Codemasters Deal: What Does It Mean For VR?
It’s difficult to predict what EA buying Codemasters could mean for either company’s future VR support. In October, EA published the VR-compatible Star Wars: Squadrons, which around 15% of people played with a VR headset. Perhaps these figures might be encouraging enough for the company to continue to pursue optional support in games that fit best. Certainly, Codemaster’s stable of racing series seems to fit the bill quite nicely.
Not to mention that EA itself owns two of the biggest racing series on the planet – Need for Speed and Burnout. In fact, Slightly Mad Studios itself developed two entries in the series years ago; could the team be reunited with the long-running franchise?
Which other Codemasters series do you hope to see get VR support in the future? Let us know in the comments below!
