Epic Games, Codemasters join ESA

The Entertainment Software Association members list reads like a who's who of the largest and most influential organizations in the global gaming industry. Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, Electronic Arts, Activision, Square Enix, Capcom, and Ubisoft are just a few of the trade group's members.

Today two more companies were added to the roster, as the ESA announced that Codemasters and Epic Games have signed on to the industry trade group. The two additions will bring the headcount of ESA members to 29.

"As our output diversifies, we are reaching an ever widening consumer base and that's particularly evident in North America where Codemasters, Inc. is now the group's fastest growing division," said Codemasters president of North American publishing Geoff Mulligan in a statement. "With that growth comes responsibility to the market and its organizations."

Meanwhile, Epic Games' chairman and CEO Tim Sweeney suggested his company would be actively trying to influence the ESA's stance on where publisher's rights end and customer freedom begins.

"As an independent game developer and pioneer in enabling game mods and user-created content with the Unreal Engine, we look forward to bringing our unique views on balancing intellectual property rights and user freedoms to the ESA," Sweeney said in a statement.

It's a big week for both Epic and Codemasters. Epic today shipped Unreal Tournament III for the PC, the long-awaited Unreal Engine 3 debut of the series, while Codemasters this morning reported its annual results, calling the last year "the most successful period in its 22-year history."