Evolution Studios Saved: Codemasters Buys It Up

Last month we reported that Evolution Studios, the makers of Sony’s PS4 racer Driveclub, was being dismantled upon the release of the last DLC, “Finish Line” (the title of which no one knew the true meaning of until then). Previously owned by Sony, the studio was shuttered as part of a restructuring effort. But someone else was interested in saving it!

That someone else is the company Codemasters, which will be absorbing Evolution Studios and its entire team. Codemasters currently makes the F1 series as well as Dirt Rally.

“The addition of the Evolution team to our studio group will allow us to scale our business and strengthen our leadership as the world’s premier racing game developer,” said Codemasters CEO Frank Sagnier. “I’m thrilled to have Mick Hocking join Codemasters as VP of Product Development. His experience in building AAA IP and leading great teams made him a natural choice to head the development of all of our products. I am equally thrilled to welcome his talented team to the Codemasters family and I look forward to the great games and brand new IP we will develop together.”

Hocking was studio director at Evolution. He’s grateful to not have to search for work. “I’m delighted to be joining Codemasters at such an exciting time in the company’s growth. 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.”