While Take-Two was originally set to acquire racing game specialist studio ‘Codemasters', EA eventually outbid them in the final hour of negotiations. As always though, these acquisitions take time to close and need to go through various approvals. All of that red tape has now been cleared, with Codemasters officially becoming an EA studio today.

EA announced today that it has officially completed its acquisition of Codemasters, handing over roughly $1.2 billion in the process. With Codemasters under its wing, EA wants to become the premier motorsport publisher, with plans for a new game each year, lining up with other EA Sports titles.

This acquisition doesn't just net EA an excellent studio, but it also grants the publisher ownership over several high-profile IP, including Dirt, Dirt Rally, Grid, Project Cars and more.

Speaking about the acquisition, EA CEO, Andrew Wilson commented: “Racing fandom continues to grow worldwide, and the franchises in our combined portfolio will enable us to create innovative new experiences and bring more players into the excitement of cars and motorsport. Our teams will be a global powerhouse in racing entertainment, with amazing games for players on every platform, and we can’t wait to get started.”

Codemasters most recent game, Dirt 5, is available now for current and next-gen consoles as well as PC. The game will be added to Xbox Game Pass soon and will also likely end up on EA Play this year.

KitGuru Says: Do many of you regularly play racing games? Are you a fan of Codemasters' titles? 

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