Codemasters gets green flag to lead Formula One revival

Those of us here at Game Guy headquarters who love open-wheel racing have been waiting and waiting for the next incarnation of “Formula 1″ for gaming, because the latest version still has Michael Schumacher, Juan Pablo Montoya and Scott Speed on the starting grid.

And in F1’s world, those guys are very old news.

Well, looks like we’ll have to wait a little while longer. While Game Guy thought someone actually was working on a revision, it turns out no one was, and only recently did a deal take shape to freshen up the series.

That deal emerged in its final form this week when F1’s overseers agreed to hand over exclusive rights to British game developer and publisher Codemasters for subsequent title development.

This means only Codemasters is allowed to use likenesses of F1 cars, tracks, teams and drivers. Terms of the deal were not announced.

Codemasters’ previous work includes “Colin McRae: Dirt,” and “Race Driver: Grid.”

From 2003 to last year, those licensing rights belonged to Studio Liverpool, a developer affiliated with Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. However, negotiations broke down between Sony and the czar of F1, Bernie Ecclestone, for a five-year contract renewal.

“Formula One” evolved annually since 2001 with improved graphics and updated team and driver lineups. The most recent versions were “Formula One Championship Edition” for PlayStation 3, which debuted in North America in February 2007, and “Formula One 06″ for PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable, which debuted in July 2006.

The next “Formula One” will steer into stores sometime next year across “multiple platforms,” Codemasters says.