Video game giant Electronic Arts is planning to purchase British game developer Codemasters for approximately $1.2 billion.
The $1.2 billion deal with Electronic Arts comes after Codemasters announced in November that it plans to sell to Take-Two Interactive, owner of major video game publishing labels Rockstar Games and 2K.
The previous announcement was made by Codemasters in conjunction with the release of its latest game, Dirt 5.
Under the EA deal, Codemasters' senior management team, including the chief executive officer and chief financial officer, would remain with the company as it transitions to EA. The deal is expected for completion by the end of March 2021.
Codemasters Chairman Gerhard Florin said the company would "benefit from EA's knowledge, resources and extensive global scale - both overall and specifically within the racing sector".
Who is Codemasters?
Codemasters is the video game studio that developed the Dirt Rally series and Formula 1 licenses. The company was founded in the UK and is currently headquartered in Southam, Warwickshire.
While Codemasters has become known for its current focus on racing games, the video game studio has done various other notable franchises in the past.
In the Spectrum and Commodore era, the company came up with the Dizzy series of platforming games, as well as several sports titles. In the 1990s, it created its successful Micro Machines franchise and published but did not develop the British-made sports games Brian Lara Cricket and Jonah Lomu Rugby.
Take-Two buyout offer
In November Take-Two Interactive has offered a deal to acquire Codemasters, valuing the company at $973 million.
Under the buyout deal, Codemasters will receive £1.20 in cash and £3.65 in Take-Two shares for every one of its share.
However, the deal has not been finalized yet during that time and no "firm offer" has been officially made by Take-Two. Both companies confirmed the deal’s existence after several reports of the possible buyout were made.
Take-Two stated: "Take-Two believes that the combination of Take-Two and Codemasters would bring together two world-class interactive entertainment portfolios, with a highly complementary fit between 2K and Codemasters in the racing genre."
Twitch allows Cyberpunk 2077 streams despite nudity
In other gaming news, Cyberpunk 2077, one of the most anticipated game of 2020, has recently dropped and gamers found that it is full of nudity. Despite Twitch's strict policy on sexual content, the game has become one of the most streamed on the platform.
While sexual content can be turned off, the  CD Projekt Red-created Cyberpunk 2077 features nudity on the get-go. During character creation, users can customize their character's genitalia and nudity is present throughout various points of the game.
Twitch's community guidelines states: "Nudity and sexually explicit content or activities, such as pornography, sexual acts or intercourse, and sexual services, are prohibited."
However, the streaming platform is making an exception for the new game. Talking to CNN Business, a Twitch spokesperson said: "Users can play Cyberpunk 2077 on stream provided they progress naturally through things like character customization and do not spend significant periods of time focused on sexual content or nudity."
Currently, Cyberpunk 2077 has around 191,000 viewers, making it the fifth highest viewed game on Twitch.
