Codemasters is closing its Guildford studio after a cool critical and commercial reception for Bodycount, the developer’s recent first-person shooter. The decision affected 70 staffers. Sixty-six of them will enter consultation and be moved to one of Codemasters’ other sites. The developer released a statement saying it will now focus on racing games, which are its strong suit. DiRT, GRID and F1 Online are among its successful racing projects. Codemasters also teased that it’s working on a new IP, but didn’t give any further details. Bodycount entered perhaps the most crowded market in modern gaming, the first-person shooter. You have to do something spectacular to stand out, and Bodycount just didn’t hit the mark. Reviews cited some of the usual culprits, such as repetitive environments and derivative gameplay.

We hope you enjoyed the fast-paced multiplayer shenanigans GRID had to offer. For many of you, GRID’s multiplayer function has recently ceased to exist. It’s a not an error of any kind. Codemasters has confirmed that the PS3 and PC versions of GRID no longer supports online multiplayer. The Xbox 360 version will continue providing online multiplayer without delay.

Website hacks in the videogame industry are becoming a common occurrence these days. Sony has been on the offensive for several weeks and Nintendo was recently the victim of a website breach. We’ve now learned that the Codemasters (DiRT 3, Overlord series) website was hacked on June 3, 2011.

The PSP2 has been the subject of rumors for the past several months. There hasn’t been any definitive proof about anything that has been said about the handheld. Some developers have said they’ve already seen the PSP2. Images of a possible development kit were leaked a while back, but no other pictures have been shown. Sony is said to be revealing the PSP2 on January 27, 2011 from Tokyo. We all want to know how powerful this device is. We’ve heard it’s as strong as a PS3 before, but shrugged off those allegations. The CEO of Codemasters now says those claims are accurate.

Codemasters wants you to help it fine tune its upcoming game DiRT 3. The developer needs gamers to engage in a focus test that will in turn, help it to make a better game. Codemasters is offering incentives such as being one of the first members of the general public to play DiRT 3, and the opportunity to see what goes on behind the scenes during game development.

“You shall not pay!” That is the tagline for the recent Lord of the Rings Online commercial. The MMO recently went free-to-play which means anyone can experience the whole game without paying a dime. Microtransactions still play a prominent role in LotR Online and have proven to be very lucrative.

Codemasters, the European publisher of Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO), will be giving away free store points from the game at Gamescom 2010. LOTRO will be adopting a free-to-play system (F2P) in the fall, as an addition to its existing monthly and lifetime subscription models. Gamescom will be from August 18-22, 2010 in Cologne, Germany.

The biggest problem with Jumpgate Evolution isn’t that it almost directly competes with EVE Online. Instead, the title’s problems stem from being in development for so long. There are times where this writer was doubtful he would ever see it completed. Seeing it at E3 2009 was like a breath of fresh air but even more »

MMO developers Turbine Entertainment has recently announced that its popular title, The Lord of the Rings Online, will alter its pricing model to include free-to-play (F2P).

The change will take place Fall 2010 for both North America and Europe (Codemasters runs the European servers). Those who want to check it out earlier can sign up for the beta program that begins on June 16, 2010.

This isn’t exactly a shocking turn of events as Turbine’s success in converting its other MMO, Dungeons and Dragons Online, to a F2P business model pretty much guaranteed that their Tolkien-based game would follow suit.

Steam lists the total savings from the Codemasters Complete Pack at $285.83. If you are a fan of Codemasters’ work and have a PC capable of comfortably running its games, you’d probably want to drop some cash on this.