14 DAY TRIAL // GameTap (broadband entertainment network from Turner Broadcasting System) has recently revealed an expanded partnership with Codemasters. The agreement is good for several years and it includes North American rights not only for the developer's new titles to be featured in GameTap's subscription service, but also for purchase online.
"Codemasters is a forward thinking company with great current and upcoming titles that are exactly the kind of games our subscribers want to play," said Stuart Snyder, Turner's executive vice president and chief operating officer of Animation, Young Adults & Kids Media. "Making games available to play day and date with the retail release to our subscribers is a top priority for our business."
Here's the deal: GameTap will be featuring Codemasters' recently released 2007 games including DiRT and Overlord, but also a selection of upcoming titles such as Clive Barker's Jericho and Turning Point: Fall of Liberty, in both the subscription service and on the ad-supported website on an exclusive basis.
"As Codemasters further expands in North America, GameTap was an obvious choice in delivering our award-winning content to a new audience," said Geoff Mulligan, president of publishing, Codemasters Inc. "We have secured retail success and this new partnership with GameTap is the next step to expanding our business through subscription play and ad revenue."
Just so everyone's on the same level here, Codemasters is one of the world's leading developers and publishers of entertainment products for a global audience on practically all current and future gaming platforms and channels. They're best known for games such as Colin McRae DiRT, Race Driver, Overlord, and Operation Flashpoint.
An agreement between the two may or may not be fruitful for them, but as far as gamers are concerned, they win no matter what. They didn't say how many years they signed on though...