Codemasters punches in record results

UK-based publisher and developer reports 38 percent climb in revenue for 2007 fiscal year on the tails of DiRT and Overlord; US growth spikes 332 percent.

As the gaming sector continues its explosive growth, more and more companies are reaping record-setting revenues. Reporting on its full-year financials, Codemasters today announced that it had posted is best period since its inception in 1985. Codemasters posted group sales of $149 million for the year ended June 30, a 38 percent climb over the same period last year.

Driving growth for the period was a substantial increase in sales to the US market. As a result of signing a distribution agreement with Warner Bros. Home Entertainment in December 2006, Codemasters said sales of its titles had spiked 332 percent in the US and 150 percent across North America as a whole. The expanded reach of its titles combined with a "high percentage of full-price sales" in the US market accounted for more than 20 percent of the UK-based company's revenue.

Unsurprisingly, the Colin McRae-inspired rally racer DiRT and the humorously maniacal Overlord were Codemasters top titles for the year. Neither game had iterations in Codemasters' 2005-2006 fiscal year, where the company's releases included Toca Race Driver 3, RF Online, Sensible Soccer 2006, and Brian Lara International Cricket 2005. Other notable releases in Codemasters' 2007 fiscal year included Brian Lara International Cricket 2007 and hosting the European front of Turbine's The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar.

Codemasters is anticipating continued growth into next year, though it has received less-than-stellar reviews for its recently released Clive Barker's horror-themed shooter Jericho. Future releases for the publisher/developer include the alternate-history shooter Turning Point: Fall of Liberty, the bank-robbing crime sim Hei$t, the Greek mythos-laden action role-playing game Rise of the Argonauts, and a new installment in its Race Driver series. Codemasters also noted that it has ramped up investment in game production by $85 million, more than 150 percent of the amount it spent last year.

45 Comments

  • noah10

    Posted Nov 20, 2008 8:40 am PT

    Go codemasters! lol(I love overlord lol.)

  • Homerj

    Posted Nov 21, 2007 9:00 am PT

    Glad to see another publisher getting rewarded for releasing innovative, quality games with great sales figures. Dirt is a whole hell of a lot of fun to play, and visually the best looking racer to be so far released (though some complain the light-bloom is a little overdone). Overlord was wickedly humorous fun, and I personally dont think Jerico deserves as much scorn as its gotten. This should be a clue to all the publishers...put out interesting games that take a few chances, and you will be financially rewarded (devs need to be taught that the EA way is not the right way).

  • -SlipSkull-

    Posted Nov 20, 2007 4:27 pm PT

    I haven't played DiRT. Is it better than Motorstorm?

  • danielson2k

    Posted Nov 20, 2007 3:44 pm PT

    I wish they'd release their 8-bit back catologue from the 80's and early 90's. I'd love to play through the Dizzy games again...

  • makemeweak

    Posted Nov 20, 2007 2:50 pm PT

    Good for them - Overlord was amazing.

  • elitedead

    Posted Nov 20, 2007 2:24 pm PT

    Dirt rocked!!

  • BadSushi

    Posted Nov 20, 2007 11:04 am PT

    good stuff! its good to see game developers doing well, even if all of their games aren't all too great, DiRT is at least one exception..

  • lonelygamer360

    Posted Nov 20, 2007 9:51 am PT

    really aches to think Clive Barker Jericho turned out like this, had expected a lot from that game.

  • DonutTrooper

    Posted Nov 20, 2007 9:37 am PT

    I never knew about Codemasters before DiRT and Overlord came out. And while the profit seems pretty nice, it's kind of a slap to see Atari on life support.

    Well, at least Codemasters is earning its money by making good games that get people interested. Unlike someone....

  • Chief_Kuuni

    Posted Nov 20, 2007 8:40 am PT

    good work Codemasters

  • _Pedro_

    Posted Nov 20, 2007 6:43 am PT

    great to see Overlord doing so well

  • Pastehunter

    Posted Nov 20, 2007 6:22 am PT

    Nice job Codemasters

  • darthzew

    Posted Nov 20, 2007 6:04 am PT

    Good jorb!!

  • zeus_gb

    Posted Nov 20, 2007 5:41 am PT

    Good for Codemasters, they've been struggling for years.

  • ObiKKa

    Posted Nov 20, 2007 3:43 am PT

    Funkyhamster
    "Codemasters is on a role this week... too bad a lot of their bigger-budget games aren't doing so great; a lot of their lower-budget games deserve more attention... they published Codename Panzer, didn't they?"

    No, I think that was CDV, the German publisher.

  • Zerosumgame

    Posted Nov 20, 2007 12:52 am PT

    Codemasters got some good rally games, but nothing much since. Pretty sad stuff there.

  • brain20035

    Posted Nov 20, 2007 12:37 am PT

    I like this company. i liked them since they released Operation Flashpoint

  • DGFreak

    Posted Nov 19, 2007 11:53 pm PT

    I hope this doesn't let them get cocky. If they start churning out mediocre games again, all of this success will leave them.

  • Putzwapputzen

    Posted Nov 19, 2007 11:45 pm PT

    wow they did really good

  • kori911

    Posted Nov 19, 2007 11:36 pm PT

    Dirt was an ok game, good on them.

  • Wayward_Son_88

    Posted Nov 19, 2007 10:36 pm PT

    They're making some great games. I remember Operation Flashpoint, that has to be my favorite game by them.

  • vass86

    Posted Nov 19, 2007 9:59 pm PT

    dirt was crap but overlord was a gem

  • RaiKageRyu

    Posted Nov 19, 2007 9:17 pm PT

    It's not hard to have growth when you were nothing to begin with.

  • mashom

    Posted Nov 19, 2007 8:28 pm PT

    Sometimes perfect thing can be made, like codemaster some times good games.

  • jrmyecomp

    Posted Nov 19, 2007 8:10 pm PT

    I brought DiRT and Jericho I love DiRt more though, one thing is a given there games are graphically amazing minus Overlord, However DiRT and Jericho were gorgeous

  • MasterChief725

    Posted Nov 19, 2007 7:56 pm PT

    good job, keep churning out more games like DiRT. It rocked

  • uklegendkiller

    Posted Nov 19, 2007 7:51 pm PT

    That's great news for codemasters, they've released some great games this year Dirt & Jericho to name a few & if they keep releaseing titles like this i should be pushing for the top spot.
    Keep up the good work codies

  • Timbydude

    Posted Nov 19, 2007 7:47 pm PT

    Codemasters either makes great games or crappy games...they're really all over the place.

  • vbdevpro

    Posted Nov 19, 2007 7:06 pm PT

    Codemaster's making a mint off of the 360, just like all of thier third party developers. Keep em coming to the 360 and we'll keep buying them!

  • nemesis8722

    Posted Nov 19, 2007 6:38 pm PT

    It's too bad they had to ruin all their great games to get them to sell.

  • Funkyhamster

    Posted Nov 19, 2007 6:03 pm PT

    Codemasters is on a role this week... too bad a lot of their bigger-budget games aren't doing so great; a lot of their lower-budget games deserve more attention... they published Codename Panzer, didn't they?

  • nicolasgb

    Posted Nov 19, 2007 6:01 pm PT

    Stabby
    Yeah! Go Overlord! And theres mor eof that coming soon!
    Codemasters didn't develop it though, they're publishers.

    -

    Codemaster did not develop Overlord, true, but they are a developer, not only a publisher.

  • Hitamaru-homia

    Posted Nov 19, 2007 5:32 pm PT

    Dirt... PS3 version? cause thats the only one that was released this year.

  • Stabby

    Posted Nov 19, 2007 5:14 pm PT

    Yeah! Go Overlord! And theres mor eof that coming soon!

    Codemasters didn't develop it though, they're publishers.

  • PostedOval

    Posted Nov 19, 2007 4:53 pm PT

    I find myself enjoying DiRT quite a bit. Lots of variety, great looking graphics and a ton of fun.

  • ObsidianArbiter

    Posted Nov 19, 2007 4:44 pm PT

    Wasted space in the gaming industry; every penny spent on their games could be spent towards the future production from amazing studios such as Bungie and Bioware instead of a mediocre Codemasters.

  • Tactis

    Posted Nov 19, 2007 4:43 pm PT

    overlord is pretty good game

  • Pete5506

    Posted Nov 19, 2007 4:12 pm PT

    I found dirt to me fun

  • sonofabear17

    Posted Nov 19, 2007 4:06 pm PT

    Overlord is awesome i cant wait for thr DLC

  • Partisan357

    Posted Nov 19, 2007 4:05 pm PT

    Nice to see a company that makes a lot of pc games making money. Don't forget to keep your titles pc friendly and i shall continue to buy. Even though overlord could have used better controls.

  • drangel_jam

    Posted Nov 19, 2007 4:00 pm PT

    Most people don't really get Jericho. I think the atmosphere is very chilling, the gameplay is good enough for what it's trying to achieve. DiRT is still underrated, or should I say, under-hyped. It should have sold more. I think

  • Sokkratez

    Posted Nov 19, 2007 3:57 pm PT

    I hope they're finding their GameTap partnership to be profitable. I know I'm loving it.

  • theclaw135

    Posted Nov 19, 2007 3:47 pm PT

    Jericho? Astounding graphics engine, that's for sure.

  • Betaslayer

    Posted Nov 19, 2007 3:19 pm PT

    awesome I love overlord, and can't wait for rise of the argonauts.

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