Take-Two Interactive is poised to acquire Codemasters, with the 3 million deal finalized early next year.
When the deal is finished, the UK-based developer will fall under the same umbrella as Rockstar, 2K, and Ghost Story Games (formerly Irrational Games). Both companies boards of directors have approved the buyout, and regulatory agencies must now approve the matter.
Beginning as a developer for Acclaim and Interplay, Take-Two began publishing in the mid-to late-nineties, backing popular series such as Grand Theft Auto, Civilization, various lines of 2K sports titles, and BioShock. It ranked third on the list of publicly-traded Western game companies in 2017, below Activision Blizzard and Electronic Arts, and above Ubisoft.
Codemasters is a British studio best known for its F1, Grid, and Dirt series. While predominately producing various racing and vehicle-based games like Colin McRae Rally, Codemasters also produced the Overlord series, the retired Brian Lara Cricket line, and You’re In the Movies on Xbox 360. The company struggled financially in the early years of the current hardware generation and earlier this year acquired the rights to the World Rally Championship series.
Codemasters’ wheelhouse is a good fit for Take-Two’s more extensive library, with titles like Dirt 5 bridging the gap between Grand Theft Auto‘s racing elements and annual outings from 2K Sports. We’ll see where this new partnership takes both entities next year.
