Codemasters Establishes New UK Studio

Officials from British publisher and developer Codemasters have announced that the company is to open a new UK based development facility in Guildford, England. Adrian Bolton will be installed as studio manager, after previously acting as development director for EA Criterion, developers of the Burnout and Black series. An initial staffing level of around thirty-five is expected for the new studio, with an emphasis on programming resource. The first projects for the new studio will be to collaborate with the other studios on the already announced Race Driver ONE and Operation Flashpoint 2, and with the company’s Central Technology Group, responsible for the proprietary middleware engine Neon. Personnel numbers are expected to increase annually as the Guildford studio begins to develop its own independent intellectual properties from 2008. Codemasters already operates a development studio from its headquarters in Southam, a small market town near Leamington Spa in England, and in Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur. The Southam studio operates a team of 255 to 185, with 70 art-focused staff in Kuala Lumpur. Gavin Cheshire, vice president of Codemasters Studios commented: “Following our investment announcements and recent product successes, it is clear to see that these are very exciting times for everyone within the expanded Codemasters Studios group.” “With Codemasters Studios in Southam, Kuala Lumpur and now Guildford, we can continue to grow our business and bring additional titles to the portfolio. We look forward to welcoming a new wave of development talent to Codemasters as we continue to grow both our product range and technology assets with projects such as Neon,” he added.