Codemasters Announces Funsta.com Casual Gaming Portal

Codemasters, a UK-based game publisher with offices in both Europe and the U.S., has announced the September launch of Funsta.com, a website portal offering online casual games. The site will host both web-based titles and downloadable try-before-you-buy games, in addition to several other revenue models such as micropayments and subscriptions. The site, whose motto will be "Games for Everyone," will feature over 1,000 games available at launch. More than 300 of the titles will be available for the downloadable Funsta Arcade client, a tool similar to Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade, and 500 will be downloadable premium PC titles. Of the remaining games, 85 are slated to be free-to-play games that launch within the browser. Partners in the endeavor are RealNetworks, Inc., whose RealArcade network Codemasters will use to power the Funsta Arcade client, as well as TryMedia and Metaboli. Trymedia will provide the lock-and-key mechanism as well as a library of titles for Funsta's premium service, and Metaboli's time-share mechanism will be used to allow gamers to subscribe to the premium content rather than purchase titles on an individual basis. "As online distribution becomes a more regular route for broadband Internet users to access entertainment products, Codemasters is perfectly placed to launch Funsta.com as an all-in-one gaming portal," said Codemasters Head of Internet Gaming Nick Pili. "By bringing together the best content providers to one site and promoting it to our extensive audience and beyond, we will make it a key online destination for both causal and core gamers." Funsta.com will be the first project for Codemasters Online Gaming, a newly formed division of the company. The site will launch in September, accompanied by a massive marketing campaign.