Take-Two Interactive has confirmed it will acquire Dirt developer Codemasters in a deal worth approximately $994 million. 

Both parties had already confirmed a purchase could be on the cards, and now we have confirmation the deal will be completed by the first quarter of 2021. 

Codemasters is the UK publisher behind a number of racing franchises, and is best known for its work on the Dirt, Dirt Rally, and F1 series.

Take-Two, meanwhile, is the parent company of Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption publisher Rockstar Games. It also owns 2K Games and its various subsidiaries, and boasts a game portfolio including other major franchises like BioShock, Borderlands, and NBA 2K.

Commenting on the move, Take-Two chairman and CEO Strauss Zelnick said Codemasters' racing franchises "will be highly complementary to our sports portfolio and enhance further our organization's long-term growth." 

"Take-Two believes that it can bring benefits to Codemasters' performance by leveraging Take-Two's global distribution and marketing infrastructure, together with Take-Two's core operating expertise in live operations, analytics, product development, and brand and performance marketing," reads a 'strategic rational' explainer. 

"The Take-Two board believes there is a compelling strategic and financial rational for the acquisition because it creates a global leader in interactive entertainment publishing through the combination of Take-Two and Codemasters' complementary and critically-acclaimed sports and racing franchises." 

Codemasters chairman Gerhard Florin, meanwhile, added that Take-Two's broad capabilities and leading position in the sports game market will "propel" its long-term success. 

The senior management team at Codemasters will retain their positions once the deal has been completed, and will continue to lead the business under the Take-Two umbrella.