Namco Bandai Europe has today announced that they will be distributing games published and developed by Codemasters across Europe and Australasia this year.

The agreement between the two companies will begin with Codemasters GRID 2, the long awaited sequel to Race Driver: GRID. Namco Bandai will also be distributing upcoming titles published by Codemasters on its Codemasters Racing label; this includes several unannounced Codemasters titles.

Alberto González Lorca, VP Third Parties, NAMCO BANDAI Games Europe and Rod Cousens, CEO, Codemasters had the following to say on the agreement.

Alberto González Lorca, VP Third Parties, NAMCO BANDAI Games Europe

“Our partnership with Codemasters started a few years ago with a few number of territories. Throughout the years, we have built a trustworthy relationship leading us to add key countries every year in our partnership. Today we are taking a new step by adding the United Kingdom and Ireland to our distribution agreement offering Codemasters the full potential of our network but also support in marketing and communication”

Rod Cousens, CEO, Codemasters

“As the dynamics of interactive entertainment change and evolve, then the shift to collaborative support via structured agile partnerships, which extend cost efficiencies and provide for stronger alliances, is the way forward,”

“We have progressed our relationship with Namco Bandai Partners for more than two years and, during that time, we have expanded territorial reach, which has worked well. We are now able to build on this and further extend our relationship to embrace more countries, including the UK and functions. By working together in this fashion we play to each other’s strengths and are trailblazing an arrangement which is likely to become more prevalent in a borderless industry.”