Codemasters has secured the exclusive video game rights to Formula 1 it was announced today. In a worldwide licensing agreement with Formula One Administration Limited, Codemasters will develop a new generation of the multi-million selling F1 game franchise across multiple platforms.

“Formula 1 is ambitious in expanding its reach with more circuits planned beyond recent additions in the Middle East and China. It is also ambitious in expanding its reach via technology. The digital communities that computer and video gaming creates will play a key role in further growing the Formula 1 audience and connecting them globally,” said Rod Cousens, chief executive officer, Codemasters.

“As a world-leading creator of driving games, this alliance with Formula 1 is the jewel in Codemasters’ racing crown and creates an undisputed segment champion. Formula 1 has gone with the best, the segment leader. It has gone to the home of the EGO Engine for quality; it has gone to the company that can host Formula 1 Online, to the company that is streaking away from the pack.”

“Codemasters’ success and recent innovations in the racing game space makes the company more than appropriately tuned for the challenge,” said Chris Deering, chairman, Codemasters. “The combination of Formula 1’s new momentum of expansion and Codemasters’ contemporary technology and past experience is the breaking of a new dawn for the sport, on the track and on the HD game screen.”

The worldwide deal provides Codemasters with rights to feature all Grand Prix circuits, Formula 1 teams, cars, and driver likenesses.

The FIA Formula One World Championship games will be developed using the evolution of the award-winning EGO Game Technology Engine, Codemasters’ highly versatile cross-platform middleware technology. Its advanced graphics and physics technology brings an unmatched cinematic quality and realism to interactive entertainment.

The EGO Engine is currently being deployed in the creation of Race Driver: GRID, the latest in Codemasters Studio’s international circuit-based racing series. Set to be a landmark release when it launches on May 30th, Race Driver: GRID was recently hailed as “The driving game of the summer” by BBC Top Gear magazine.

The estimated price of the F1 licence is at over $75 million.

Review originally written 2007-04-10

Now when Schumacher is out of the picture and the Formula 1 season is more open than in many years Sony gives us the opportunity to recreate last year’s battle between Renault and Ferrari. Every fan of Geoff Crammond’s Grand Prix series have cried for years about the fact that Sony owns the rights to the F1 games, but things could be much worse. Sony is far from behaving as badly with the F1 licence as the PC gamers often make it sound like and gives all F1 addicts a big challenge when all the driving aids are switched off.

Regardless of whether you want to do a quick arcade race or setup the car carefully for that ultimate flying lap around Silverstone F1 Championship Edition is a game for everyone with at least a small percentage of racing in the blood.

Sony has had the licence for the Formula 1 World Championship for quite a long time now, much to the dismay of fans of Geoff Crammond’s Grand Prix games like myself. For the PlayStation 3 Sony Studio Liverpool (formerly known as Psygnosis for the retro gamers out there) are developing a game with the working title Formula One Championship Edition.

Since it’s an official game we get all the drivers and the new teams from the 2006 F1 season: Scuderia Torro Rosso, Super Aguri and Midland. Apart from next-gen graphics the game now introduces safety car situations for the first time which will add a little bit of extra strategy to an ongoing race.

If this isn’t a reason to buy a PS3, then I don’t know what is.