Codemasters

Codemasters was founded in the United Kingdom in 1986 by brothers David and Richard Darling, after their early development work for Mastertronic. The company was created with support from the Darling family and fit perfectly into the British home computer market, where the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC and later Amiga and Atari ST supported a fast, inexpensive and highly competitive scene. Its first major success was BMX Simulator, released in 1986, a simple but effective game that immediately defined part of the company’s early identity: accessible design, low prices, strong retail presence and a clear appeal to younger players.

Codemasters’ 8-bit period was dominated by budget software and a very large catalogue. The most important name from this phase was Dizzy, created by the Oliver Twins. With its egg-shaped hero, the Dizzy adventures combined platforming, puzzles, item collecting and a fairy-tale tone that was instantly recognizable. Treasure Island Dizzy, Fantasy World Dizzy, Magicland Dizzy and Fantastic Dizzy turned the character into a small icon of British gaming. Around him, Codemasters published titles such as Grand Prix Simulator, Professional Ski Simulator, Super Robin Hood, Kwik Snax and many other games built for a market where a low price did not necessarily mean a lack of personality.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Codemasters also showed a strong commercial instinct. The Game Genie, a device used to modify console games, brought the company into a legal battle with Nintendo in the United States and became one of its best-known non-software products. At the same time, Codemasters moved more decisively onto consoles and 16-bit systems, publishing games for NES, Mega Drive, Game Boy, Amiga, Atari ST and PC. Micro Machines, developed with Supersonic Software and released in 1991, became one of the company’s best-loved titles: top-down racing, tracks set on tables, bathtubs, desks and household floors, immediate multiplayer and a speed that made it perfect for sofa competition.

During the 1990s, Codemasters began to shift its center toward racing games. TOCA Touring Car Championship, released in 1997, brought the British touring car championship into games with more believable handling and a strong television identity. Colin McRae Rally, released in 1998, was the real turning point. Built with the name and input of the Scottish rally driver, it made rallying accessible but technical, with narrow tracks, different surfaces and a driving feel that was much more modern than many competitors. From there came an increasingly recognizable sports line and, later, series such as DiRT, GRID and the official Formula 1 games, which turned Codemasters into one of the world’s leading racing game specialists.

Codemasters was not only about racing, however. It published Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis, developed by Bohemia Interactive, a key title for military realism on PC, and worked on series such as Overlord, Brian Lara Cricket and LMA Manager. In 1999 it acquired Sensible Software, bringing one of the most important names of the British Amiga scene into its catalogue. This period showed a company very different from the budget software house of the 1980s: larger, more international and closer to the modern console and PC market, but still connected to a British idea of immediacy, competition and accessible play.

In 2021 Codemasters was acquired by Electronic Arts, after a bidding contest that had also involved Take-Two Interactive. The deal brought the company into EA Sports and strengthened Electronic Arts’ position in racing games, especially through Formula 1, DiRT, GRID and Project CARS. Codemasters’ legacy is that of a company able to cross almost the entire modern history of British video games: from low-cost cassette releases to consoles, from 8-bit mascots to driving simulations, from Micro Machines sofa multiplayer to official Formula 1 championships.