Freedom To Develop
Electronic Arts is one of the biggest publishers in the gaming industry and is at the helm of releases such as Battlefield, FIFA, NHL, Need for Speed and It Takes Two. Being one of the biggest publishers in the industry means that acquisitions, takeovers and mergers are a necessity to facilitate consistent growth and expansion. Thus, it is no surprise that Electronic Arts recently acquired Codemasters and MetalHead Software, two established companies that were respected and had great results in their respective niches. In February, Electronic Arts officially announced that Codemasters would be joining the family as their expertise in racing games has been made clear from time immemorial with releases such as Formula 1, Project Cars, Dirt and GRID. The company’s aim is to release the best racing games possible.
Often times, fans fear major publishers acquiring smaller companies as they believe constant pressure on the developers and too much importance placed on profits reduces the quality of the games in the long run. However, Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson stated that “Similar to Respawn, our orientation isn’t to come in and take over Codemasters; our orientation isn’t to come in and turn Codemasters into another Electronic Arts studio; our orientation is around the provision of opportunity…”. Respawn Entertainment, one of the more popular developers in the Electronic Arts umbrella, is responsible for Titanfall and Apex Legends, two games that are highly praised by fans across the board.
It appears that Electronic Arts will leave Codemasters to their own devices and grant them the freedom to develop their games as they wish, essentially trusting their skill and prowess in the field of producing top notch racing games.
Are you happy about the decision by Electronic Arts to give Codemasters development freedom? How do you think the publisher and developer relationship should be? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter and Facebook.