EA completes its $1.2 billion acquisition of Codemasters

EA has completed its acquisition of Codemasters, valuing the company at $1.2 billion.

The deal brings Codemasters’ critically-acclaimed racing franchises, such as Formula 1®, DIRT, DiRT Rally, GRID and Project CARS into EA’s library, joining its existing titles such as the Need for Speed franchise, the Real Racing mobile game, and its EA SPORTS brands.

In a press release, the two companies hailed the deal as “an exciting new era in racing game entertainment,” that will allow the two companies to be “positioned to bring fans a regular cadence of new and exciting racing content, in addition to reaching across more platforms and more regions of the world.”

“This is the beginning of an exciting new era for racing games and content as we bring together the talented teams at Electronic Arts and Codemasters,” said Andrew Wilson, CEO of Electronic Arts. “Racing fandom continues to grow worldwide, and the franchises in our combined portfolio will enable us to create innovative new experiences and bring more players into the excitement of cars and motorsport. Our teams will be a global powerhouse in racing entertainment, with amazing games for players on every platform, and we can’t wait to get started.”

“Today is a landmark in Codemasters’ history, and an exciting day for our employees and players,” said Frank Sagnier, CEO of Codemasters. “The partnership with EA will enable our teams to take our highly-acclaimed franchises to new heights and reach a huge global audience through their player network. Together we can redefine the landscape of racing games to create even more compelling experiences for racing fans around the world.”

The deal promises to provide significant growth for Codemasters, bringing them into EA’s network of 430 million players, as well as its multi-platform subscription services. Electronic Arts’ also brings deep data and analytics capabilities to the Codemasters development and publishing teams, providing audience insights to accelerate the performance of key franchises