Codemasters expansion

Tuesday 16th February/... Codemasters Studios, creators of the million-plus selling titles Colin McRae™: DiRT® 2 and Operation Flashpoint®: Dragon Rising and the holder of Develop’s Grand Prix Award 2009, is targeting growth through an aggressive recruitment program with a focus on its Guildford studio facility.

The New Year has seen key positions open across the Guildford studio’s Design, Programming and Art teams. Currently, there are Art positions across Technical, Environment and Animation disciplines, in Programming there are Lead, Senior and Experienced posts open along with Senior Games Designer and Senior Level Designer opportunities.

Codemasters Studios Guildford opened in 2007 under the management of Adrian Bolton, previously Development Director for EA Criterion, and Gavin Cheshire, Codemasters’ VP of Development. Formed to expand Codemasters’ internal studios network and create original IP in the action genre, the studio has prototyped several concepts over the past 18 months with one project entering full production some 12 months ago.

The project, an original action FPS for leading console platforms, comes from the studio’s Creative Director Stuart Black, previously co-creator and designer of Black (2006). The title will be Codemasters’ first new IP developed utilizing the EGO Game Technology Platform, Codemasters’ multi-platform, cross-genre development engine, following the successful reboots of established franchises including Colin McRae: DiRT, Race Driver: GRID and Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising.

Executive Producer Tom Gillo (previously Executive Producer and Game Director at Sony Computer Entertainment London Studio) and Senior Producer Andrew Wilson (previously Senior Producer, Split/Second at Blackrock) lead the 80-strong development team and will draw on Codemasters’ Central Technology Unit to further evolve the EGO Game Technology Platform.

“Codemasters’ multi-site studio network has seen a significant rise in headcount to over 450 people and growth at the Guildford Studio is key to our overall development strategy,” said Gavin Cheshire, Vice President, Codemasters development. “With Stuart Black’s new shooter in production, deployment of EGO and key development figures heading up a highly skilled team, our Guildford facility offers great potential for development talent based in the South East who want to join a growing studio and work on original titles for our future portfolio. This current hiring phase is just the beginning as we look to build a further full team and create additional original IP on site.”

For further details on the positions open at Codemasters Studio Guildford and across the Codemasters Studios group, visit www.codemasters.com/careers, @Codemastersjobs on Twitter or email recruitment@codemasters.com.

• ENDS •

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

Richard Eddy, Director, Communication

Rich.eddy@codemasters.com

Codemasters (UK 01926 814 132)

Adrian Lawton, Communication Manager

Adrian.lawton@codemasters.com

Codemasters (UK 01926 814 132)

ABOUT CODEMASTERS

Codemasters is a leading developer and publisher of best-selling interactive entertainment products for a global audience across multiple gaming platforms and channels. Established in 1986, the company’s dominant brands include Colin McRae DiRT, Race Driver GRID, Overlord and Operation Flashpoint; the company retains the exclusive worldwide video game rights to FORMULA 1. Codemasters is headquartered in Warwickshire UK, with North American operations based in Universal City, Calif. The company also maintains operations in Japan, Germany, France, Spain, Benelux and Malaysia. Codemasters operates three UK development studios – one at its Warwickshire HQ with further sites at Guildford and Birmingham. An additional art studio is based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In 2009 Codemasters won the coveted Grand Prix Award at the 2009 Develop Industry Excellence Awards, an award bestowed on the company felt by Develop to have contributed the most to the games medium in recent times. For more information on Codemasters’ product portfolio, please visit www.codemasters.com