EA’s recently announced acquisition ofCodemastersmeans another big racing game developer has been picked up by the publisher. Joining the likes of Criterion Games, huge racing IPs likeDirt,Grid,Project Cars, andF1will now fall under the EA banner. Not to mention any possibility of Codemasters being tasked with developing a new or separateNeed for Speedgame alongside Criterion. However, given EA’s history with studio acquisitions and expectations, Codemasters' fans are understandably weary. There’s the very real possibility that Codemasters' fate could either go the way of Respawn Entertainment, or end up like Ghost Games.
This acquisition is by no means inherently grim, asCodemasterscould potentially do great things under EA’s financial and production support.Dirt 5, Codemasters' latest game prior to the merge, saw very positive reviews as a next-gen launch title. Not to mention various other Codemasters racing franchises likeProject Carsthat are typically recommended by racing game fans. Unfortunately, there’s the inherent worry for Codemasters to suffer under the same company that’s struggled with theNeed for Speedfranchise for years. There are certainly pros and cons to this Codemasters-EA deal, inspiring some cautious optimism for the popular racing game developer.
The Good: Better Codemasters Games, Potentially a Better Need for Speed
Additionally, assuming Codemasters would be interested in it, it could also potentially assist with theNeed for Speedfranchise. It’s no secret that EA, Criterion, and the now-shuttered Ghost Games havestruggled to maintainNeed for Speedrelevance in the last few years, at least for good reasons. Many of the latestNeed for Speedentries have simply not met the standards of EA, nor have those games met the standards that the franchise once set many years ago. Codemasters could certainly help with that, whether it’s a spin-off style game likePro StreetorShift, or a true-to-form new entry in the long-running racing game franchise.
However, on that note, it is very possible thatNeed for Speedcould be imposed onto Codemasters as an additional project alongside the developer’s existing franchises. Either that, or EA’s acquisition of the studio was made with the expectation thatCodemasters' input on theNeed for Speedfranchise would be beneficial. In an ideal world, every developer on the Codemasters team would be thrilled to work on aNeed For Speedgame. However, as mentioned previously, EA has set a high standard for theNeed for Speedfranchise that Codemasters will have to meet, assuming the studio does work on a newNeed for Speedtitle.
The lastNeed for Speedgame,Need for Speed Heat, was one of the first entries in a long time that had comparatively strong sales.Need for SpeedHeathad the most concurrent players during launch weekcompared to any other entry released this generation, which in any other context would’ve been good news. However, even in spite of this seemingly encouraging news, EA shuttered the Ghost Games studio (developer ofHeat) and shifted the primary development of the franchise back to Criterion. Granted, Ghost Games is not innocent here either, as that was the same development studio that worked on 2015’s lackluster reboot andNeed for Speed Payback.
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The Ugly: EA’s Treatment of Racing Game Studios
EA is notorious for downsizing and shutting down first-party studios when they don’t meet expectations. Visceral Games is a studio example that comes to mind right away, but a more apt example, in this case, is Black Box games, which was also a coreNeed for Speeddevelopment team prior to 2013. Given thatGhost Games' closing only happened earlier this year, Codemasters is joining EA’s game development studios with that context. To be fair, Codemasters has consistently put out some of the best racing games of the generation, so there’s still a degree of confidence to hold on to for racing fans after this acquisition.
Knowing what EA has done in the past with attempting to recapture the magic ofNeed for Speed, it’s important to note that could affect Codemasters' future. Even if it turns out Codemasters will not be affiliated withNeed for Speedin any way, it’s an understandable assumption based on this acquisition that the studio would help in some way. Codemasters could still continue making games likeProject CarsorDirtunder the EA banner, without touchingNeed for Speed, and that wouldn’t be a terrible thing by any means. Time will tell what Codemasters' role under EA will truly look like, whether that means a CodemastersNeed for Speedgame, or more of the same.
MORE:All the Major Codemasters Games EA Will Own After It Acquires the Company
