WRC Franchise Set to Switch Developers as Codemasters Puts the Brakes on Rally Titles

[SnakeOfBacon]

Honestly, anyone who thinks Take Two would have done any better just needs to have a look at their current sports game franchises. They can make EA look like a customer first family friendly company sometimes.

Agreed. Take-Two added the worst features of their recent PGA, WWE and NBA 2K games into TopSpin 2K25: the single-player mode is now a huge coin grind, which you are constantly reminded you can mitigate by buying Virtual Currency. Once you have a nice character you've invested time and/or money into, it'll be lost when the game loses most of its features at the end of its 32-month life, as indicated on a message printed on the inner cover under the disc.
I sincerely hope T2/2K don't acquire any other franchises.

 

[MagpieRacer]

Agreed. Take-Two added the worst features of their recent PGA, WWE and NBA 2K games into TopSpin 2K25: the single-player mode is now a huge coin grind, which you are constantly reminded you can mitigate by buying Virtual Currency. Once you have a nice character you've invested time and/or money into, it'll be lost when the game loses most of its features at the end of its 32-month life, as indicated on a message printed on the inner cover under the disc.
I sincerely hope T2/2K don't acquire any other franchises.

Yeah I was quite lucky with PGA 2k in that I grinded the demo and got early access before they nerfed the VC so had a lot banked and a well levelled up set of characters.

The backlash on that was huge, the game is so good and the nerfing hurt it so much, being in the community council for that game is both great and very difficult.

 

[WanganDream]

There's also growing fear that Codemasters might also work as support studio for Battlefield series.

Good news: Codemasters' new mission is not to support Battlefield

Bad news: they're going to support FIFA.

After Criterion babysits Battlefield, it's time for FIFA.

Why ruin a great studio and beloved franchise to babysit someone else? Why bully racing game fans over and over again?

EA is the absolute worst. I love the racing games they release. But I really, really hate EA.

 

[Veinz]

The silver lining to this is that it seems like publishers like EA are becoming obsolete.

 

[nickf1gr]

Bruh!!! Classic EA that destroys their purchases like FIFA etc....
Codemasters must 'escape' from all this....

 

[MagpieRacer]

Bruh!!! Classic EA that destroys their purchases like FIFA etc....
Codemasters must 'escape' from all this....

They didn't destroy FIFA per se, it still makes hundreds of millions of $'s, they cut the sponsorship with FIFA when they wanted too much money for it.

Same game every year yeah, but destroyed? Nope, it's the one franchise they've actually succeeded in keeping alive and massively profitable.

Codemasters can't escape anyway, they're done, layoffs, reintegration, Codemasters as we once knew it no longer exists.

 

[CapnScrub]

I still have PTSD from the horrible physics and rubberbanding in Racing Evoluzione so I hope the new developer is not Milestone. Always avoided their games like the plague since that experience. Perhaps they got better at their craft in the 20 years since then tho.

I play the MXGP21 game by Milestone a bit, and I have to say its fantastic. I also hear good things about the feel of some of the other recent motorbike titles, so hopefully if it ends up being them then it will be decent. Still anyones guess though.

 

[CarreraGT]

I really wish Codemasters was sold to Take-Two instead of EA. They completely ruined Codemasters, DiRT was rebranded and is now shelved, GRID is probably done too, F1 games haven't exactly been great lately, Project Cars is gone and Need for Speed is currently frozen. I wouldn't be surprised if EA decides to close the whole studio too in the coming months.

Project CARS wasn't EA...

 

[MagpieRacer]

Project CARS wasn't EA...

The ones that released weren't, however It was very much EA who killed it for good.

Big promise, wasted potential - EA axes Project CARS franchise - The Race

Video game publisher EA will stop its investment into the Project CARS franchise, likely spelling the end for a once-promising series.

www.the-race.com

 

[RACECAR]

I really wish Codemasters was sold to Take-Two instead of EA. They completely ruined Codemasters, DiRT was rebranded and is now shelved, GRID is probably done too, F1 games haven't exactly been great lately, Project Cars is gone and Need for Speed is currently frozen. I wouldn't be surprised if EA decides to close the whole studio too in the coming months.

And you seriously think this wouldn't have been the same story at Take-Two? You honestly think this exact same sequence of events wouldn't be done there as well if they also didn't find said franchises profitable?

 

[Famine]

Project CARS wasn't EA...

Codemasters bought SMS (ahead of PC3's release), EA bought Codemasters, EA shut down Project CARS and disassembled SMS.

Codemasters Acquires Slightly Mad Studios

In a surprising turn of events, Codemasters, developer of the DIRT and GRID series, has agreed to acquire Slightly Mad Studios (SMS). SMS is best known for developing the Project CARS, series and is well under way in developing the next game in the series. There's also been talk of the studio dev

www.gtplanet.net

EA Completes Codemasters Takeover Worth $1.2 Billion

EA has completed its acquisition of developer and publisher Codemasters in a deal worth over $1.2 billion. The deal first came to light late last year, when it emerged that EA had tabled an offer of nearly $8 per share for the UK-based business after the Codemasters board had approved a takeover

www.gtplanet.net

EA Kills the Project CARS Series, Slightly Mad Studios Staff to be Reassigned

EA has ended development and investment on games in the Project CARS series, according to a report from GamesIndustry.biz. The news comes three years on from developer Slightly Mad Studios' acquisition by Codemasters, which was in turn acquired by EA in a $1.2bn deal in February 2021. After be

www.gtplanet.net

 

[sirjim73]

As EA doesn't want any of these franchises, I had a random thought, obviously just a fantasy, but what we need is a new or existing indie studio (that could use some of the staff laid off from CM, and i suspect many of the reassigned staff want out at this point) to buy the franchises from EA and start small and build things up again. Lets call it err Gtplanetmasters 🤔
I'll set up a crowdfund

 

[evldave333]

The whole greed head mentality is blindly stupid, short term gain... harvest the apples cut down the trees for firewood. This is the will of a few powerful families trampling over everyone else, shame on you. What might help ease the pain for the industry amid all the greed consolidation is: AI might make the next generation of games makers more independent again and then creativity will uptick.

 

[Famine]

As EA doesn't want any of these franchises, I had a random thought, obviously just a fantasy, but what we need is a new or existing indie studio (that could use some of the staff laid off from CM, and i suspect many of the reassigned staff want out at this point) to buy the franchises from EA and start small and build things up again. Lets call it err Gtplanetmasters 🤔
I'll set up a crowdfund

I've said for years that we should make a racing game. We know everything that everyone wants and every mis-step every other game has made.

Problem is, I've got the ideas what to do but no idea how to. Also I'm a PR nightmare because I'd insist on telling as much of the truth as legally possible, so no publisher would take us on 😆

 

[MagpieRacer]

 

[Pearl Jam]

The ones that released weren't, however It was very much EA who killed it for good.

Big promise, wasted potential - EA axes Project CARS franchise - The Race

Video game publisher EA will stop its investment into the Project CARS franchise, likely spelling the end for a once-promising series.

www.the-race.com

Reading that just makes me so angry, decisions taken in the boardroom by men who have never played a racing game in their lives and for whom it’s just about ‘what can make us the most money? ‘ I despise EA with a passion now and will never ever buy anything they put their name to, absolute pond life.

 

[doblocruiser]

Reading that just makes me so angry, decisions taken in the boardroom by men who have never played a racing game in their lives and for whom it’s just about ‘what can make us the most money? ‘ I despise EA with a passion now and will never ever buy anything they put their name to, absolute pond life.

Absolutely ! EA is a terrible company and makes you wonder why even work for such a diabolic machine. As soon as you sign a contract with them , you're killed off without a wimper if you're not profitable. May that company burn in hell

 

[CapnScrub]

As EA doesn't want any of these franchises, I had a random thought, obviously just a fantasy, but what we need is a new or existing indie studio (that could use some of the staff laid off from CM, and i suspect many of the reassigned staff want out at this point) to buy the franchises from EA and start small and build things up again. Lets call it err Gtplanetmasters 🤔
I'll set up a crowdfund

It's possible. The game "Project Motor Racing" is essentially that. Its devs from the GTR2 game and someone who had a big part in Project cars from what I understand. They have formed a brand new studio and are publishing the game under Giant Software (makers of Farming Simulator). From what they have on their youtube channel it looks pretty good, and it wouldnt be a farfetched thing to happen in the Sim-Rally world too. We can only hope!

 

[CarreraGT]

I'm so annoyed at EA for this. How many more good racing developers are they going to destroy?

Codemasters and WRC should have been a match made in heaven, but the game was compromised from the beginning.

If only Codemasters had been allowed to finish Dirt Rally 3 their way...

 

[fifaburgio]

I don't like how Codemasters ended.

 

[m355y]

They haven't 'ended' yet have they- they'll still be making the F1 game? I agree though, it's way more than a massive shame, its scandalous really.