DiRT and F1 developer Codemasters has confirmed that it will be closing its Japan office later this month. This announcement was initially made via the company’s Japanese website, and in subsequent statements provided to VideoGamer, Codemasters revealed that it will now be moving to a partnership model.
In line with Codemasters’ existing international distribution strategy for boxed titles, which sees our physical products being taken to market by valued publishing partners in key global territories, such as Bandai Namco for Europe and the Americas, the Company is now implementing that strategy in the Japanese market with the appointment of a major publishing partner in the region. As a result of the move to a partnership model in Japan, Codemasters is retiring from its Tokyo office and bids farewell to Miyake San and his team who previously represented our titles in the region. We thank them for all their hard work representing Codemasters in Japan since 2008. Codemasters will announce the details of its new Japanese publishing partnership in due course.
This news follows reports of Codemasters’ UK offices being hit by layoffs. Back in January, 50 jobs were under review and 30 positions were set to close. It’s unclear how many redundancies will occur as a result of the Tokyo office closure.
Codemasters will release F1 2015 on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC in June. The developer also teased a new DiRT title last week.
[Source: Codemasters via VideoGamer]
