Codemasters

Codemasters has announced plans for an ambitious expansion that will see it create 125 jobs in the UK. Speaking to Develop, talent acquisition manager Simon Miles didn't say how quickly the jobs would be created, but did confirm that the majority of the new roles will be at the company's Warwickshire studio, with 25 new staff headed to its Birmingham offices. More >

Warner Bros. Interactive has signed a deal with Codemasters to handle its international distribution, sales and marketing, taking over from THQ. Warner Bros. will focus on the US, Canadian and South American markets, starting with DiRT: Showdown and F1 2012. More >

A former member of the development team at Codemasters' Guildford Studio has accused the company of imposing excessive, unpaid overtime on staff in the run-up to the release of Bodycount, and threatening bankruptcy proceedings if he failed to return a payment that it claims was made in error. More >

Codemasters has announced Dirt Showdown, an "action-packed extension" of the series due in May for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. An arcade racer, Showdown features three event types: standard races; demolition derbies; and "Hoonigan", a stunt-based gametype featuring "accessible controls." Codemasters says it will be its most connected game ever, with split-screen multiplayer, eight-player online races, on and offline party games, and integration with video sharing service YouTube. More >

Microsoft-owned Kinect Sports developer Rare has announced the appointments of four senior members of staff that have joined the Twycross-based studio from other UK developers. In the past month, Andrew Dennison has joined as software director from Codemasters, where he had spent ten years as lead programmer. Jon Vincent has given up his audio director role at Ubisoft Reflections for the same position with Rare. More >

Codemasters has announced Dizzy Prince Of The Yolkfolk, which will be released on December 9 for Android, iPhone and iPad. More >

It would seem that Codemasters is gearing up to bring back much-cherished '80s videogame icon Dizzy. More >

Yesterday reports claimed that up to three million codes giving a free Steam copy of Dirt 3 had been taken from Codemasters' servers. The developer later got in touch to clarify that it was an AMD promotional site, and the graphics card manufacturer has confirmed that. In a statement, it said: "These activation keys were hosted on a thirdparty fulfilment agency website, www.AMD4u.com, and did not reside on AMD's website. Neither the AMD nor Codemasters servers were involved. We are working closely with Steam, Codemasters and our fulfilment agency to address the situation. AMD will continue to honour all valid game vouchers, however the current situation may result in a short delay before vouchers can be redeemed."

UPDATE: AMD has provided the following statement: "This past weekend, activation keys associated with free Dirt 3 game vouchers shipping with select AMD products were compromised. These activation keys were hosted on a thirdparty fulfilment agency website, www.AMD4u.com, and did not reside on AMD’s website. Neither the AMD nor Codemasters servers were involved. We are working closely with Steam, Codemasters, and our fulfilment agency to address the situation. AMD will continue to honour all valid game vouchers, however the current situation may result in a short delay before the vouchers can be redeemed." ORIGINAL STORY: Publisher Codemasters has, together with AMD, been running a promotion giving away a download copy of Dirt 3 to purchasers of one of the latter's graphics cards. Kotaku reports that Codemasters had three million codes sitting on a webserver, which was accessed by hackers. One saving grace is that the codes in question were for Steam, which should make it relatively easy to blacklist the stolen codes, and gives Codemasters or Valve the option of banning those who used them.

Codemasters has released the first gameplay video of its upcoming F1 2011, sequel to last year's rather special F1 2010. The game is set for a worldwide launch on September 23. In a press release, Codemasters draws attention to "exciting wheel to wheel racing, enhanced by KERS [kinetic energy recovery system, a new tech introduction in the 2011 season] DRS [drag reducing system], as well as highlighting improved garage, paddock, pit lane and Parc Fermé cinematics that further immerse the player into the life of a FORMULA ONE driver." Bespoke handheld versions are also in production for 3DS and Vita which will be released at a later date.