F1 2021 has been officially announced with a summer release date, and it's set to be the first F1 game published by EA Sports in nearly 20 years following its Codemasters buyout. EA Sports used to have a stronger hold on the racing scene in the early 2000s with its F1 and NASCAR games, but slowly loosened its grip to focus on other titles. However, F1 2021 sees a return for the publisher thanks to a massive deal struck late last year.
Late last year, EA acquired developer and publisher Codemasters last year for a massive, undisclosed figure. The studio is mostly known for its well-made racing games, such as OnRush, Dirt, Grid, and the F1 series. It's not a move many expected from Codemasters, given EA's notorious reputation for shutting down developers and main focus on its established franchises, such as iconic arcade racer Need for Speed. It's unclear what EA's long-term plans are for Codemasters, but it's unquestionable that there's a specific reason the gaming giant wanted the studio after EA outbid Take-Two at the last minute.
EA will release its first game with Codemasters, F1 2021, on July 16, and the game was announced via an official reveal trailer. The acclaimed series will return as normal in its annual form, having been in development for a probably while prior to the EA buyout, and it will also feature a brand-new story mode called Braking Point. Braking Point will place players in a dramatic story that unfolds both on and off the track. “Braking Point is an exciting innovation that has been years in the making. We are proud to expand the game experience and allow players to live the highs and lows of life in Formula 1 both on and off the track,” said Lee Mather, Franchise Game Director at Codemasters. “Braking Point transforms the game and puts players centre stage in the greatest racing spectacle on the planet.”
F1 2021 will join EA Sports' recently announced College Football title as another returning annual franchise for the publisher. Prior to these announcements, the publisher hasn't had a new annualized series since EA Sports UFC in 2014, but it will be adding its first racing series among its offerings since abandoning the NASCAR series two console generations ago.
The announcement of F1 2021 may not appeal to everyone, but it is something that people should pay some attention to. Given EA's habit of sticking to its biggest franchises in recent years, it's interesting to see the publisher not only add a new franchise for the EA Sports line, but a whole new developer. They already have Need for Speed as an established racing franchise, even though those games have been mixed in recent years. Perhaps the publisher is changing its way and wants to get a bit more risky or maybe it just wants to have some racing simulators in its line-up, either way, it will be interesting to see how EA uses Codemasters going forward.
F1 2021 will be available on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC on July 16, 2021.
Source: Codemasters