Codemasters
Codemasters is one of the oldest and most important british software houses. Founded in 1986 by Richard and David Darling (who worked previously for Mastertronic, Codemasters quickly established themselves in the growing ZX Spectrum market, mostly with action games that required the player to solve simple puzzles by combining different objects. One of the best examples of these games are the Dizzy series, which turned Dizzy into the un-official Spectrum mascot.
As the Spectrum market diminished, Codemasters quickly turned to the 16 bit console market, where they had major success with the Micro Machines series and Pete Sampras Tennis (which featured the J-Cart, which allowed two extra controllers to be attached to the game cart without requiring EAs 4 way play or SEGAs four player adaptor).
Always taking the most from techonolgy as it evolved, evolved, Codemasters never stopped releasing best-selling titles, such as the ground breaking TOCA Touring Car, Colin McRae Rally series and Operation Flashpoint.