Two months after reportedly reaching an agreement to acquire Codemasters for about $1 billion, Take-Two Interactive announced this week that it has no plans to go through with the acquisition.

Take-Two was expected to go through with the acquisition last November, but plans were apparently complicated when EA made a surprise bid of $1.2 billion the following month. Codemasters' board responded to the bid and withdrew its recommendation to sell to Take-Two. Now, rather than coming back with a counteroffer, the publisher has told its investors that it is pulling out of the race altogether.

Nevertheless, it looks like EA will get Codemasters after all, with the F1, Dirt, and GRID series nestled neatly next to Criterion's Need For Speed under the publisher's umbrella. But EA will also have access to Bohemia Interactive's "ARMA" predecessor, the hardcore military sim "Operation Flashpoint," among others.

According to a statement from Take-Two, the publisher is still actively looking for developers to acquire. However, as far as Codemasters is concerned, it appears that Take-Two has failed to cross the finish line.