F1 Developer Codemasters Suffers Round of Layoffs
Staff at risk.
Veteran UK developer Codemasters has suffered a round of layoffs following the launch of racing games F1 23 and EA Sports WRC.
Codemasters owner EA confirmed the redundancies in a statement issued to IGN, although failed to disclose the number of staff affected.
“Our business is constantly changing as we strive to deliver amazing games and services that keep our players engaged, connected, and inspired,” an EA spokesperson said. “At times, this requires the company to make small-scale organizational changes that align our teams and resources to meet evolving business needs and priorities. We continue to work closely with those affected by these changes, providing appropriate support throughout this process.”
EA bought Codemasters, best known for the racing franchises Grid, F1, and Dirt, in 2021 for $1.2 billion. At the time, EA boss Andrew Wilson said he wanted to let the company retain its identity without too much outside interference. Codemasters CEO Frank Sagnier and CFO Rashid Varachia left soon after, and Codemasters, including Project Cars developer Slightly Mad Studios, was made a part of EA Sports.
Then, in May last year, EA merged the development team at Codemasters Cheshire with Guildford-based Criterion Games to create one large development studio to work on Need for Speed Unbound, which struggled to find an audience. Codemasters Birmingham continued to work on the Formula 1 franchise.
This year, Codemasters released two racing games that have struggled to find commercial success: F1 23, which came out in June, and EA Sports WRC, which launched in November. Codemasters holds the official licence of the World Rally Championship, and WRC is the studio’s first rally game to have the official WRC licence since 2002’s Colin McRae Rally 3. IGN’s WRC review returned a 6/10. We said: “EA Sports WRC feels like a great racing game trying to fight its way out of an unfinished one.”
The layoffs at Codemasters come with EA’s racing game franchises floundering. With the Need for Speed series a far cry from the glory days of the mid-2000s, the Burnout series dead, and Codemasters’ licensed titles failing to move the needle, the future of racing games at the publisher is unclear.
The layoffs also come at a particularly difficult time for the video game industry, particularly in the UK. Codemasters is just one of a number of UK video game companies that have endured financial problems in 2023. Frontier Developments, which is also going through a round of redundancies, issued a trading update after Realms of Ruin sales flopped. Worms maker Team17 has issued a profit warning and is making staff redundant. IGN recently reported on significant redundancies set for Sega-owned Creative Assembly after the cancellation of extraction shooter Hyenas. Elsewhere, Fall Guys developer Mediatonic was said to have been “decimated” by layoffs triggered by parent company Epic Games, creator of battle royale Fortnite.
https://www.ign.com/articles/f1-develop ... of-layoffsOne of the issues with WRC and F1, regardless of quality, is how fast the previous iteration drops in price. And why pay £30-40 for the semi-finished EA Sports WRC when the superior WRC Generations is currently available for £13.99? Go back further and WRC and F1 games can be had for as little as a couple of quid. I'm not sure the market is there for these yearly barely-any-different updates. I think they've got to sort their schedule out where they're alternating games. WRC in 2022, F1 in 2023, Burnout in 2024 etc.
Whether as a publisher or developer, I miss the variation you used to get with Codemasters titles. Colin McRae, TOCA, Brian Lara Cricket, Music, IndyCar, Prisoner of War, LMA Manager, Micro Machines, Second Sight, Jonah Lomu Rugby, Mike Tyson Boxing - ALL brilliant (well okay, maybe not Tyson...). As graphics have gotten more sophisticated and budgets have therefore ballooned, the industry has undoubtedly gone backwards.
