Driveclub Devs Join Codemasters, Following Studio Closure

Codemasters, the developer of the Dirt, Grid, and F1 series of racing games, has hired developers from Evolution Studios, the team behind PlayStation 4 racing sim, Driveclub.

Writing on its blog, the publisher said: "Codemasters will be expanding its portfolio of studios to include the highly-respected and very talented team from Evolution Studios."

On March 22, Sony announced plans to close Evolution, meaning that many of the studio's workforce face redundancy. According to Codemasters, the success of F1 2015 and Dirt Rally has "re-positioned the company for growth," which starts with the acquisition of talent from the formerly PlayStation-exclusive development studio.

Codemasters has not acquired Evolution Studios, nor its IP. The publisher did not specify how many people it had hired.

"This expansion will not only see us gain a wealth of racing expertise and skill, but it’ll take Codemasters to the next level as the world’s largest racing-focused games company. With phenomenal racing DNA, we hope that gamers out there are excited to see what we do next--as are all of us here at Codies."

Evolution Studios co-founder Mick Hockin has been appointed VP of product development at Codemasters. He will be responsible for all of the company's studios--including the addition of the now multi-platform Evolution team.

"I’m delighted to be joining Codemasters at such an exciting time in the company’s growth," he said. "We have a shared passion for racing, a desire to innovate and a determination to create the best racing games and build the biggest racing community in the market. I’m very much looking forward to working with so many of the world’s greatest racing developers, on new IP as well as exciting franchises including Dirt, Grid, Micro Machines, and the Formula One games."

In its previous statement announcing the closure of Evolution, Sony said the restructure would allow it to focus on "on other Studios that already have exciting new projects in development."

It continued: "We believe we will be in a stronger position going forward and able to offer the best possible content of the highest quality for our consumers."

At the time, Paul Rustchynsky, director of Driveclub, thanked fans and Sony for their support.

"Firstly, a big, big thank you to all the fans that have supported us throughout Evo's storied history; we couldn't have achieved what we did without you," he said. "Thank you to Sony who helped Evo rise to the top tier of racing game teams in the world, working as a first party team has been a fantastic experience."