Codemasters' new online gaming division gets casual

Some recent very interesting news from Codemasters (well, it sounds interesting.. we'll see how it turns out.) After previously shelving development on Dragon Empires (bummer), Codemasters has finally revealed their plans for online gaming that they've hinted at for a while now. I'll look into this more to see how it's coming along... and what the heck this really means, too. I'm mostly intrigued by their focus on the notion of "casual online gamers" and what they think it means to place a focus on them. Read on for the full press release... Codemasters forms new online gaming division to target core and casual online gamers. Codemasters Online Group established, series of MMO deals to be announced, unique casual gaming portal planned. Friday 1st July (10am UK time) – Codemasters, the leading developer and publisher of critically acclaimed video games, has expanded its development and publishing operations with the formation of Codemasters Online Gaming, a new division that will drive the company’s interests in the online marketplace. Focussing on Massively Multiplayer Online and online casual gaming, the division has been formed as an addition to the company’s console and PC boxed product operations. David Solari has been appointed as Director of Codemasters Online Gaming, with responsibility for all business and product opportunities within the online space. Solari was previously Codemasters’ PC Group Brand Manger, working on titles such as Operation Flashpoint and Soldiers. Under Solari, the division is preparing an online casual games portal as its first initiative to attract the mass-market online gamer. For the core online gaming audience, a series of publishing and operation deals for major MMO gaming products will be announced shortly. Other senior appointments in the division include Phil ‘Vortal’ White as Head of Massively Multiplayer Gaming, Nick Pili as Head of Internet Gaming, Ed Relf as Head of Codemasters Online Gaming Marketing and Adam Hance as Head of Interactive Marketing. Says David Solari, Head of Codemasters Online Group: “The Online Group has been assigned a significant investment to drive our plans in this major growth area of the business. Codemasters has a very serious interest in online gaming and one that covers a broad scope, with titles and initiatives that will target the core and casual online gamer.“