Driveclub dev Evolution joins Codemasters

Codemasters has stepped in to save recently shut Driveclub developer Evolution Studios.

The closure of the Sony studio was announced last month, but now the team is heading over to Codemasters, with Evolution co-founder Mike Hocking being named as Codemasters’ VP of product development, overseeing activity across all Codemasters studios.

The Driveclub IP remains a Sony property.

The success of F1 2015 and DiRT Rally over the last 12 months has re-positioned the company for growth,” Codemasters CEO Frank Sagnier said. The addition of the Evolution team to our studio group will allow us to scale our business and strengthen our leadership as the world’s premier racing game developer.

I’m thrilled to have Mick Hocking join Codemasters as VP of Product Development. His experience in building AAA IP and leading great teams made him a natural choice to head the development of all of our products. I am equally thrilled to welcome his talented team to the Codemasters family and I look forward to the great games and brand new IP we will develop together.”

Hocking added: I’m delighted to be joining Codemasters at such an exciting time in the company’s growth. We have a shared passion for racing, a desire to innovate and a determination to create the best racing games and build the biggest racing community in the market.

I’m very much looking forward to working with so many of the world’s greatest racing developers, on new IP as well as exciting franchises including Dirt, Grid, Micro Machines and the F1 games.”