Evolution Studios, the recently closed developer of DriveClub and the Motorstorm franchise, has joined Codemasters. The news comes courtesy of the Codies Blog and informs that both Codemasters and developers from Evolution Studios will stay together as a team.
The Evolution Team had previously hinted that the studio was looking to stay together with Codemasters and the Codies Blog confirms that the new owners will keep developers from Evolution as a separate entity working on their own games out of their own offices. Over the course of the last thirty years Codemasters and Evolution Studios have produced some of gaming's most recognizable racing titles including GRID, DiRT, DriveClub, and Motorstorm.
Sony still owns Evolution's previous IP from when they were under the electronics giant's Liverpool umbrella and none of the teams previous titles or technology have been acquired by Codemasters. It's also unclear if the new team will keep the Evolution Studios name but it is clear that their new bosses want the team to keep its identity intact. Codie CEO Frank Sagnier say in an interview over at Gamesindustry.biz:
We want the team to remain to remain the team that they are. We want to benefit from everything that they've learned as a team together, we want them to create their own games. Of course there will be synergies, of course we will share stuff, but we would like to make sure they retain their identity and stay together as a team to do what they're good at. What we don't want to do is bring in a team of 50 people and start having some work on one game and some on another, on existing IP. The whole point is to keep their DNA and build a new game.
The newly hired developer team will still make brand new titles for its previous owner however. Mick Hocking, former Evolution co-founder and now newly appointed VP of Product at Codemasters, has said that there's no ill will towards Sony and that they will continue to make great games for PlayStation 4. Speaking on the Codies Blog Hocking had this to say about the transition:
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 FORMULA ONE games.
Last month we told you that Sony had closed Evolution Studios citing that closure was based of the company reviewing and reallocated its assets.
With Codemasters acquiring the Evolution Team, it creates the "world's largest racing-focused games company" and TechRaptor would like to wish everyone there the greatest success.
