Codemasters, the British publisher and developer behind the F1 and Dirt racing series, among a long list of other games, is joining forces with DriveClub’s recently shut down developer, Evolution Studios.


In addition to Codemasters taking on “most” of the studios’ staff, former Evolution Group Director Mike Hocking will also become the company’s new VP of Product Development. According to Codemasters CEO Frank Sagnier, the move, which involved “no financial element,” is a step in “[scaling] our business and [strengthening] our leadership as the world’s premier racing game developer.”




This notion was echoed by Hocking, who told GamesIndustry that they’re building a “racing powerhouse: a UK studio which is hopefully going to be the world number one in racing.” He added that the team was “very happy to be able to go forward and work on multiple platforms and work on new IP” and also clarified that yes, “multiple platforms” will involve PlayStation as well.

Paul Rustchynsky, former veteran Evolution developer and Driveclub game director, showed plenty of enthusiasm for the move on Twitter:




It’s important to note that Codemasters only offered jobs to the studio staff: the IPs for Driveclub and Motorstorm remain with Sony. Only time, and Sony, can tell if the ex-Evolution team will ever get to work on the two series again.

