Lord of The Rings Online free-to-play re-launch delayed

Posted by Chris Holmes at 4:09pm on September 9th, 2010

Codemasters has confirmed that the European free-to-play re-launch of The Lord of the Rings has been delayed. Apparently, the reason for its delay is so that Codemasters can prepare for what they assume will be a “massive increase” in players. The delay means that Book 2: Ride of the Grey Company and the Free to Play Store will now be released “later than expected”.

“We are really pleased with the performance of the game and excited about the response to Free to Play from our players,” said Rowland. “Given the complexities and challenges faced in the preparation and implementation of the new store to work within our infrastructure, we feel more time is needed to deliver the high level of service our players have quite rightly come to expect.

“As a result, we have decided to delay launch to ensure that we can support the massive increase in players that we are anticipating and deliver them a Free to Play experience like none other.”

Codemasters | MMO | News | PC

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Operation Flashpoint Red River announced

Posted by Chris Holmes at 1:13pm on August 2nd, 2010

Codemasters has officially named the next game in the Operation Flashpoint series. It’s called Red River, and should be released sometime in 2011. It’s in development over at Codemasters’ Southam studio. Apart from that, we don’t know what to expect.

Codemasters | News | PC | PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360

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DiRT 3 unveiled

Posted by Chris Holmes at 12:30pm on August 2nd, 2010

Codemasters has shown off a new video for Colin McRae’s DiRT 3. The video shows everything you have come to expect from the series; mud soaked rallying, race course racing and exploding cars. Well the last one was a bit expected, but we love it when a plan comes together. Apart from the video, nothing else about the game has been announced. There’s no dates and no platforms, but expect PC, PS3 and 360. Here’s the video:

Codemasters | News | PC | PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360

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Dungeons & Dragons Online to go free in Europe

Posted by Chris Holmes at 2:56pm on July 20th, 2010

MMORPG Dungeons & Dragons Online will become free-to-play in Europe from next month. Folks over in North America have been playing the “Unlimited” free-to-play version for a while, but now it’s officially going to be free in Europe. European players can play the game with the US servers right now to get a sneaky peak at what it’s like. Turbine will be taking control of European operations from Codemasters Online.

Codemasters | Europe | News | North America | Turbine

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Bodycount pre-alpha E3 video shows dudes with miniguns

Posted by Chris Holmes at 1:38pm on June 14th, 2010

Codemasters has released a pre-alpha gameplay video of Bodycount for E3. The video shows some dudes with miniguns, lots of killing, muzzle flash and bullets flying everywhere. For a pre-alpha video, we were fairly impressed. The game’s looking promising and will be released on the PS3 and 360 during Q1 2011, so Guildford Studio has a healthy amount of time to work on it. Here’s the video:

Codemasters | E3 | PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360

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The Lord of the Rings Online going free to play

Posted by Kevin Prince at 3:03pm on June 4th, 2010

Warner Bros. has confirmed that The Lord of the Rings Online is going free-to-play this autumn. The move is part of a major update for the game by its developers, Turbine. The model will basically allow gamers to play for free, but will charge them for expansions, quest packs, items and account services. There will also be a VIP program that will allow players to get unlimited access to all of the game’s content for one price. A beta of the new version of the game will start on June 16th. More information about it and the application process is available at http://www.lotro.com.

“Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment is bringing quality games based on The Lord of the Rings to multiple platforms, and the franchise’s expansive adventure story lends itself perfectly for LOTRO free-to-play, giving a wide range of players the opportunity to experience the game,” said Jeff Junge, Senior Vice President Online Games and Digital Games Platforms, Warner Bros. Digital Distribution and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. “We are focused on expanding our game franchises onto new digital platforms to maximize quality experiences for gamers worldwide and LOTRO’s new model is a great leading example of this.”

Codemasters | News | PC | Warner Bros

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GamesAid charity triple pack unveiled

Posted by Chris Holmes at 4:34pm on May 6th, 2010

GamesAid have unveiled the “GamesAid Triple Pack”. Retailing on the PS3, it will include Tomb Raider: Underworld, SEGA Superstars Tennis and FUEL. GamesAid is a UK games industry charity for children and young people. The pack goes on sale on the 25^th June for £29.99. All profits will go towards GamesAid charities.

Andy Payne, Chairman of GamesAid, said: “Not only does this triple pack raise money for our charities, it also raises awareness of GamesAid at consumer level. We now look forward to retail getting behind it and giving it the push it deserves.”

Ray Maguire, Sony Computer Entertainment’s UK Managing Director, stated: “We are delighted to be supporting GamesAid in this venture. It’s good for the industry as a whole, and we’re proud to be involved.”

Charity | Codemasters | Industry News | News | SEGA | Square Enix | UK

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International Cricket 2010 dated

Posted by Chris Holmes at 2:24pm on April 29th, 2010

Codemasters has officially dated International Cricket 2010. It will be released on the PS3 and 360 in the UK on Friday 18^th June to coincide with the NatWest Series between England and Australia this summer. The game includes official players and grounds, and you’ll be able to partake in full tests, Twenty20 games and instant tournaments.

Codemasters | News | PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360

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India’s Reliance Big Entertainment to acquire 50% of Codemasters

Posted by Chris Holmes at 12:29pm on April 6th, 2010

Codemasters has announced that Indian firm Reliance Big Entertainment has agreed to acquire a 50% shareholding in the company. They will accompany the existing investor Balderton Capital; whom first invested in Codemasters back in 2005.

Reliance Big Entertainment’s gaming division;  Zapak Digital Entertainment will oversee the Codemasters investment. They are the largest gaming company in India, with connections to online casual games, massively multiplayer online titles, gaming cafes and physical distribution of gaming software. They also own Jump Games, a mobile game development and publishing company.

Rohit Sharma, CEO of Zapak, said: “We are excited to partner with Codemasters and believe that its very strong technology, development and distribution presence will complement our global gaming portfolio. Additionally, Zapak’s global strength in mobile gaming will enhance Codemasters’ ability to fully leverage its attractive franchises such as its racing and cricket games.”

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Codemasters | Industry News | News

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