Jobs at risk at Codemasters

A number of jobs are on the line at UK developer and publisher Codemasters.

Eurogamer claims to have word from sources close to the studio” that 50 jobs are being reviewed with 30+ of these expected to be lost at the close of a 30 day consultation period.

These include design and art jobs in the Grid and Dirt teams, although the team working on next-gen title F1 2015 is said to be unaffected.

Eurogamer also claims that Codemasters was planning on a Steam Early Access release for a new Dirt game next month, but issues securing car licenses mean this is now unlikely and the team has now been downsized.

Codemasters has confirmed the consultation period to MCV but not specified the report’s claims.

As Codemasters continues its programme of strategic realignment in line with market changes, the Company has reviewed its current structures to focus on areas of increased importance and decrease resources in areas where work requirements have been reduced,” the company told MCV.

As a result of this review, a small number of roles have been proposed as being at risk of redundancy. Those in potentially affected roles are now involved in a consultation period to discuss the proposal. The proposal does not affect the on-going production of titles in development and no projects have been cancelled as a result of the proposal.”

The release rate of Codemasters titles has slowed notably since the release of PS4 and Xbox One – the company has yet to release a game on these machines, with last year’s F1 2014 being a last-gen and PC only title.

The last generation of machines bought mixed fortunes for the company, too. While it successfully transformed its legacy Colin McRae and TOCA Touring Car brands to become Dirt and Grid respectively, it also placed huge investment behind an MMO drive that ultimately fell largely flat.

It also published a string of flops such as Damnation and Turning Point: Fall of Liberty.

Codemasters, which was founded in 1986 employs around 500 people in total. In 2010 Indian firm Reliance Big Entertainment acquired a 50 per cent stake in the company.

Last year it extended a deal that sees Namco Bandai handle its distribution in a number of countries, including the UK.