With no non-racing games in production, publisher Codemasters is taking steps to make the genre its strict focus for the future. Launching the new label Codemasters Racing (and an accompanying online social hub, Racenet), the change in structure will come into play with the May 25th release of Dirt Showdown. Racenet will enter into public beta with Showdown‘s to-be-released demo.
“Racing is the absolute razor focus for all titles currently in development and those slated for future development across the studios in Warwickshire and Birmingham,” the company told Gamasutra. “The focus is an exclusive one, there are no other genre properties in development at this time; racing is everything. We are also increasing headcount across the operation, which currently employs around 700. We are expanding the teams by a further 100+ development positions, which are opening over the course of the year across the sites.”