Sky news first reported EA’s interest in Codemasters over the weekend. The British company had previously agreed a $ 970 million deal with Rockstar games and 2K sports owner Take-Two interactive.

Ea owns the need for speed franchise. Sony’s Gran Turismo and Microsoft’s Forza series are exclusive to their publishers’ respective platforms.

‘we believe there is a deeply compelling opportunity in bringing together Codemasters and Electronic Arts to create amazing new racing games for fans,’ says EA CEO Andrew Wilson.’we will be positioned to lead in a new era of racing entertainment,’ he adds.