Project Cars Dev Sold To Codemasters, Working On "Hollywood Blockbuster Title"

Project Cars developer Slightly Mad Studios has been brought into the Codemasters fold following a buyout, adding to a portfolio of racing franchises that includes Dirt, Grid, and the F1 series. The studio maintains the rights to their Project Cars series, which means that future entries will be published under Codemasters. According to the announcement, Codemasters will publish not only the Project Cars series, but also an "unannounced Hollywood blockbuster title." The specifics of this game were not announced, but as Eurogamer reported, it's been rumored that Slightly Mad Studios is working on a Fast & Furious game since 2017. Gamesindustry.biz reports that this was a $30 million deal.

In a statement alongside this announcement, Codemasters CEO Frank Sagnier said that they are "delighted to bring such an incredible racing game developer to the Codemasters family, and this unequivocally establishes us as a global powerhouse in the development of racing titles." The publisher is looking to the future, with the growth of streaming platforms like Google Stadia and the impending release of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Scarlett in 2020. "This is the perfect time for Codemasters to take its next step." The studio is also working on Project Cars Go, a mobile spin-off title.

Slightly Mad Studios previously worked with EA on two Need for Speed titles, Need for Speed: Shift and Shift 2: Unleashed (which curiously dropped the Need for Speed branding from its name), before moving on to the Project Cars brand. Not mentioned in the announcement is the Mad Box, the console that the studio was reportedly working on. Earlier this year we saw multiple potential designs for it, and CEO Ian Bell promised free games for life to whoever could come up with the best slogan for the console.

The most recent game in the Project Cars series, Project Cars 2, released in 2017. GameSpot gave it a 7/10 in our review, and reviewer Richard Wakeling said that it was a much stronger game if played with a wheel. "It's ambitious in scope and depth, and the sheer breadth of available motorsports almost guarantees there's something for everyone to sink their teeth into. It's a shame, then, that there's always this nagging feeling in the back of your mind that a bug or moment of AI madness will disrupt the whole thing--and more often than not, it will."