Codemasters extends game agreement with Formula One

Codemasters will continue as makers of the Formula One video game, the company said on Tuesday. It extended its deal with F1 honcho Bernie Ecclestone and friends and will work to expand the F1 video-game line across new platforms and to new audiences in the coming years.

Codemasters was founded in 1986 by game-designing brothers Richard and David Darling. The company has plenty of history in motorsports gaming, most recently creating the Grid, Dirt and F1 series for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

“We got off to a strong start with Formula One, but we harbor ambitions to do much more,” said Rod Cousens, CEO of Codemasters. “Formula One is in the front of our minds and we give it the focus and attention it deserves. We have established close links across the sports, and they know that they have a great partner.”

Cousens also said that the company wants to make F1 games available on new platforms. That includes F1 Online the Game, a free-to-play online management and racing game that will go live this spring. It also includes an unnamed F1 game catering to younger audiences that will be released later this year. We'd guess that means a title for the Nintendo Wii system, and possibly for the PlayStation Vita handheld.

F1 2010 was well reviewed by critics, including us at Autoweek, for its beautifully smooth graphics, the inclusion of 20 race venues and the predictable handling that was neither too easy nor too difficult to master. The few complaints we did have with the timing, scoring and some of the artificial intelligence were tackled in the next version, released in late 2011.

With this new contract in place we expect to see the next big console game, F1 2012, in stores around September of this year.

By Jake Lingeman