Codemasters logo

Codemasters

United Kingdom Founded 1986 Website

Codemasters is a British video game developer and publisher founded by David Darling and his brother Richard in 1986. Headquartered in Southam, Warwickshire, Codemasters is one of the oldest British game studios, and in 2005 was named the top independent games developer by Develop magazine.

Codemasters at a Glance

Codemasters has been a constant presence in the video game industry since its founding in 1986. Based in Southam, Warwickshire, the studio released 40 titles during the 1980s and saw its output grow to 57 games in the 1990s. The company reached its peak productivity in the 2000s with 76 releases, before activity slowed to 40 games in the 2010s and just 18 in the 2020s so far. Over their active career spanning from 1985 to 2025, they have published 214 games and developed 100 titles on PlayPile, totaling 239 entries. The studio focuses heavily on specific genres that reflect its long history. Sport games make up the largest category with 101 releases, followed closely by racing titles at 97 games. They have also produced 68 simulator games and smaller numbers of platformers, adventure games, and arcade entries. Their platform reach is vast, with PC being the most common home for their work at 101 titles. However, they were equally active on older hardware like the ZX Spectrum with 59 games and the Commodore C64/128/MAX with 58 releases. They have also maintained a presence on modern consoles including the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, each hosting 35 of their games. Quality varies significantly across their catalog. The average rating for their 107 rated titles sits at 71 out of 100. While they have 27 great-rated games with scores above 80, they also have 63 good titles and a handful of mixed or poor entries. Their highest-rated work includes Cosmic Spacehead from 1993 with a score of 91.4 and Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis from 2001 at 89.4. More recent output shows a decline in critical scores. F1 25 released in May 2025 holds a rating of 76.9, while F1 24 from the previous year scored only 69.4. EA Sports WRC, released in October 2023, received a similar score of 69.8. This suggests that while their legacy titles remain highly regarded, their recent sports simulations have struggled to match the critical acclaim of their earlier years.

239
Total Games
71
Avg Rating
1985
First Release
2025
Latest Release

Genre Breakdown

Sport
23%
Racing
23%
Simulator
16%
Platform
8%
Adventure
8%

Platform Spread

PC (Microsoft Windows)
101
ZX Spectrum
59
Commodore C64/128/MAX
58
Amstrad CPC
48
PlayStation 4
35

Release Timeline

1980s
40
1990s
57
2000s
76
2010s
40
2020s
18

Rating Distribution

27
80-100
63
60-79
14
40-59
3
0-39
Brian Lara Cricket '96 game cover
Rating 6.0

Brian Lara Cricket '96

1996·Genesis/MegaDrive, Amiga
Micro Machines Military game cover

Micro Machines Military

1996·Genesis/MegaDrive
Sampras Extreme Tennis game cover

Sampras Extreme Tennis

1996·PS1
Pete Sampras Tennis 96 game cover

Pete Sampras Tennis 96

1995·Genesis/MegaDrive
Micro Machines: Turbo Tournament 96 game cover
Rating 8.4

Micro Machines: Turbo Tournament 96

1995·Genesis/MegaDrive
Psycho Pinball game cover
Rating 8.0

Psycho Pinball

1994·DOS, Genesis/MegaDrive, browser
Pete Sampras Tennis game cover

Pete Sampras Tennis

1994·Genesis/MegaDrive
Micro Machines 2: Turbo Tournament game cover
Rating 8.4

Micro Machines 2: Turbo Tournament

1994·SNES, DOS, Genesis/MegaDrive
Cosmic Spacehead game cover
Rating 9.1

Cosmic Spacehead

1993·DOS, Genesis/MegaDrive, Amiga
Super Robin Hood game cover

Super Robin Hood

1993·NES
Wrestling Superstars game cover

Wrestling Superstars

1993·C64, ZXS, ACPC
Fantastic Dizzy game cover
Rating 8.6

Fantastic Dizzy

1993·NES, DOS, Genesis/MegaDrive +3
Big Nose's American Adventure game cover

Big Nose's American Adventure

1992·C64, ZXS
Steg the Slug game cover

Steg the Slug

1992·DOS, Amiga, Atari-ST +3
Stryker in the Crypts of Trogan game cover

Stryker in the Crypts of Trogan

1992·C64, ZXS, ACPC
Murray Mouse: Supercop game cover

Murray Mouse: Supercop

1992·C64, ZXS
Go! Dizzy Go! game cover

Go! Dizzy Go!

1992·NES, Amiga, Atari-ST +4
Crystal Kingdom Dizzy game cover

Crystal Kingdom Dizzy

1992·Amiga, C64, ZXS +1
Captain Dynamo game cover

Captain Dynamo

1992·DOS, Amiga, ACPC
1st Division Manager game cover

1st Division Manager

1992·Amiga, Atari-ST, C64 +2
Bee 52 game cover

Bee 52

1992·NES, C64
Wild West Seymour game cover

Wild West Seymour

1992·C64, ZXS, ACPC
Super Seymour Saves the Plant game cover

Super Seymour Saves the Plant

1992·C64
Stunt Buggies game cover

Stunt Buggies

1992·NES, DOS, Amiga +3
Dizzy the Adventurer game cover

Dizzy the Adventurer

1992·NES
Boomerang Kid game cover

Boomerang Kid

1991·NES, C64
Slightly Magic game cover

Slightly Magic

1991·Amiga, Atari-ST, C64 +2
Wacky Darts game cover

Wacky Darts

1991·Amiga, Atari-ST, C64 +2
Spike in Transylvania game cover

Spike in Transylvania

1991·Amiga, Atari-ST, C64 +1
Seymour Goes to Hollywood game cover

Seymour Goes to Hollywood

1991·DOS, Amiga, Atari-ST +3
Spellbound Dizzy game cover

Spellbound Dizzy

1991·Amiga, Atari-ST, C64 +2
Advanced Fruit Machine Simulator game cover

Advanced Fruit Machine Simulator

1991·Amiga, Atari-ST
CJ's Elephant Antics game cover

CJ's Elephant Antics

1991·DOS, Amiga, Atari-ST +2
Micro Machines game cover
Rating 6.9

Micro Machines

1991·NES
Dizzy 3 and a Half: Into Magicland game cover

Dizzy 3 and a Half: Into Magicland

1991·ZXS
Dizzy Down the Rapids game cover

Dizzy Down the Rapids

1991·DOS, Amiga, Atari-ST +3
Linus Spacehead's Cosmic Crusade game cover

Linus Spacehead's Cosmic Crusade

1991·NES
Tilt game cover

Tilt

1990·C64, ZXS
Italia 1990 game cover

Italia 1990

1990·Amiga, Atari-ST
Miami Chase game cover

Miami Chase

1990·Amiga, C64, ZXS
Wizard Willy game cover

Wizard Willy

1990·C64, ZXS, ACPC
Kamikaze game cover

Kamikaze

1990·Amiga
Magicland Dizzy game cover

Magicland Dizzy

1990·DOS, Amiga, Atari-ST +3
Bubble Dizzy game cover

Bubble Dizzy

1990·DOS, Amiga, Atari-ST +3
Super Tank game cover

Super Tank

1990·ZXS, ACPC
The Ultimate Stuntman game cover

The Ultimate Stuntman

1990·NES
Dizzy Panic game cover

Dizzy Panic

1990·Amiga, Atari-ST, C64 +2
The Bounty Hunter game cover

The Bounty Hunter

1989·ZXS