Formula One games have been largely neglected as of late, even as the Formula 1 Championship is becoming more and more entertaining, with the reign of Michael Schumacher finally over and a host of new, young, hungry for victory pilots battling it out of the title. So, it was only a matter of time till a publisher made a move to publish a new Formula 1 game. Somewhat surprisingly, that publisher is Codemasters.

The British publisher and developer says it has secured the exclusive rights to represent the championship in a videogame. The license it has includes everything from the Grand Prix circuits the FIA is likely to use in the Formula 1, to the names of the teams, colors of the teams, names of the pilots and the their likenesses. Codemasters plans to use this host of content to create a game that will be playable on gaming consoles, handhelds and on the PC.

Development work is currently assigned to Codemasters Studios, of which rumors suggest it will be beefed up with some people from the dead and gone Sega Racing Studios. There's also a slight possibility that the game have to compete with another F1 title, rumored to be in development at Electronic Arts, although a F1 title without the proper names and faces will have a tough time on the market.

Codemasters Studio has quite a bit of experience regarding racing titles, as they made Colin McRae: DiRT and are also the studio responsible for the good looking Race Driver: GRID. The EGO Game Technology Engine, which powers GRID, is likely to also be used for the F1 title.

Rod Cousens, the Codemasters' Chief Executive Officer, stated that "Formula 1 is ambitious in expanding its reach with more circuits planned beyond recent additions in the Middle East and China. It is also ambitious in expanding its reach via technology. The digital communities that computer and video gaming creates will play a key role in further growing the Formula 1 audience and connecting them globally".