DiRT Showdown launches Codemasters Racing

Codemasters has announced the formation of a new label within the publisher called Codemasters Racing, allowing company-wide "razor focus" on the genre from the launch of DiRT Showdown onwards.

Codemasters has set up a new label inside the company that solely focuses on its racing games alone, the publisher has announced this afternoon.

Called Codemasters Racing, the brand name does what it says on the tin in that it'll look after its racing properties, including DiRT, GRID and Formula One.

The company has just signed a new extension to its F1 deal with F1 2012 coming this September, while DiRT Showdown has been confirmed today for a May 25 launch. GRID 2 is on the way, but very little information has emerged on it in nearly two years.

"The new Codemasters Racing label signals Codemasters’ new razor focus upon the racing sector," it said today in the release confirming DiRT Showdown's release date.

"Codemasters is uniquely positioned to deliver award-winning offerings across multiple platforms and genres, with simulation represented by the official Formula One games, off-road racing fans catered for by the DiRT series and action-packed street racing delivered by the GRID franchise.

"The Codemasters Racing label will become a symbol of quality for racing gamers, and launches with DiRT Showdown."

With the formation of the new label, there may be worries that its no longer supporting other genres and series' as a whole, including Operation Flashpoint.

While the publisher's main goal right now is with its racing games, its told VG247 it doesn't mean it won't stop altogether.

"Codemasters Racing is a label with Codemasters Ltd remaining the identity of the overall company," it said in a statement.

"The current focus for the overall business is our racing content but that's not to say that that we won't explore other genres in the future."

Its also announced RaceNet, a new racing social service that will be included in all of Codemasters racing games going forward, beginning with a beta release alongside the launch of the DiRT Showdown demo.

The service will see players be able to track races, rivals and rewards gained on track. It'll "continually evolve to bring together" other games under the label, like F1 and GRID.