Following yesterday’scancellation of the Black Panther gameby Electronic Arts and closing the studio working on it (Clliffhanger Games), it seems more layoffs are planned by the video game company.
This time, the latest rumor suggests that one of EA’s newest studio acquisitions is not only facing layoffs but also reportedly closing its doors completely.
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EA Rumored To Be Targeting Codemasters Studio Closure
The latest rumor comes fromeXtas1s, who has been correct multiple times when it comes to insider info. According to the leaker (via machine translation), “The cancellation of Black Panther will NOT be the only thing. I have been able to learn that there are about 400 more layoffs coming up at EA, a total CLOSURE of the main headquarters of Codemasters and that these developers will be integrated into EA Sp (F1) and a new Need For Speed that is already in development.”
While eXtas1s has been reliable for the most part, this is still not official, so treat this bit of news with a bag of salt. That said, it would make sense, given thatEA recently killed its Rally racing franchise, which is one of Codemasters' bread and butter games.
Codemasters was acquired by EA in 2021 for a staggering $1.2 billion, which included the F1, Project CARS, GRID, Dirt, WRC and more racing IPs. This was intended to bolster EA’s Need for Speed and Burnout racing franchises, but since then, only the F1 series has performed well.
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Speaking of F1, the latest iteration of the franchise has just been released by EA, andour review of it was critical but fair, stating, “EA Sports and Codemasters have conjured what is the best Formula 1 game to date. The problem here is that they do this every other year, without error. F1 25 has beautiful graphics, a bombastic presentation that sometimes overshadows the actual racing, and handling improvements that finally do away with half a decade of bad habits in the series.”
Chances are, if the rumors of Codemasters' demise is the real deal, we’ll hear about it officially from EA soon. Here’s to hoping that if this is indeed the case, those laid off can find employment soon.
If this comes to fruition, what will become of the F1 series? Will Criterion or some other first-party EA studio take the lead? There are a lot of questions left that remain unanswered.
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