Bizarre Creations to close this week

By Fred Dutton Published 15 February, 2011

RIP.

Bizarre Creations, the Liverpool-based developer behind the likes of Project Gotham Racing, Geometry Wars and Blur, shuts up shop this Friday, reports claim.

According to Develop, it floats off to game developer heaven on 18th February, after being formally disbanded by owners Activision.

Back in November, the publisher announced its intent to offload the developer, citing poor sales of its excellent Blur racer.

"Bizarre is a very talented team of developers, however, because of the broader economic factors impacting the market, we are exploring our options regarding the future of the studio, including a potential sale of the business," said a statement released at that time.

However, no buyer came forward and last month its imminent termination was confirmed.

Activision exec Coddy Johnson explained that the publisher had "explored a lot of leads – pretty much anyone you can imagine in the industry. But unfortunately, so far we've not been able to find any interested parties. So we've made as a last resort, a recommendation to the team for closure."

It's sad to see any developer go to the wall, but given the quality of its output this one hits particularly hard. Eurogamer wishes all staff well in whatever comes next.

To mark its passing, here's a small visual summary of some of the studio's finest work. Enjoy.

Picture of Fred.

About Fred Dutton

Fred Dutton is Eurogamer's US news editor, based in Washington DC.

Read more articles from Fred by visiting the Fred Dutton archive page.

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Comments (108) Latest comment 1 year ago

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  • mugwump #1 1 year ago

    :(

  • PrivateFloyd #2 1 year ago

    Shit the bed : (

    Sad news.

  • Brev2034 #3 1 year ago

    Thanks for the memory's bizarre u will be missed

  • duckmouth #4 1 year ago

    A real shame. I live about a quarter of a mile from Wavertree Technology Park (their HQ). How can a company this good go out of business? I even liked The Club! Surely someone will pick them up, maybe to resurrect PGR? Maybe EA or Microsoft? Hopefully that's the plan, and they are just waiting so they don't have to pay Activision anything for them (assuming that's legal).

  • el_pollo_diablo #5 1 year ago

    If I was a developer currently making a game for Activision, I'd be polishing my cv right now.

    Good luck to all at Bizarre.

  • joebount #6 1 year ago

    At least I am proud to have bought their titles, and not pre-owned.
    Sad, but I did what I could on my scale.

  • the_dudefather #7 1 year ago

    RIP
    /salutes
    /amazing grace

  • Eraysor #8 1 year ago

    Never liked any of their racing games, but Geometry Wars and its sequel were superb. RIP!

  • chasejamie #9 1 year ago

    Blur is fucking fantastic.

  • NkillerROH #10 1 year ago

    Activision...I tolerated you when you ditched IP's like Ghostbusters and Brutal Legend for the more exploitable franchises. I tolerated you when you made CoD was a yearly franchise. I tolerated you when you exploted Guitar Hero to death. I tolerated you when you started overcharging the map packs. I tolerated you when you fired those guys at Infinity Ward. I tolerated just about every frustrating thing you had thrown at us, but this...this just takes the cake in all the bulls*it things you've done. They could've made them independent again like Viacom did with Harmonix, but no. Just shut them down because Blur didn't sell. And to all the potential buyers...WHAT THE HELL WAS WRONG WITH YOU!?

  • Triggerhappytel #11 1 year ago

    Just in case the message hasn't got through clearly enough yet: fuck off and die, Activision.

  • Dj_ade_76 #12 1 year ago

    Activision must die

  • paketep #13 1 year ago

    That's sad. I refuse to believe for a moment that Bizarre is not profitable. This is probably some numbers trick to inflate Kotick's check for the trimester.

    Fuck Activision.

  • Shakey_Jake33 #14 1 year ago

    And the curse of Activision consumes another AAA developer. Lets hope no-one else falls into the same trap.

  • patootik #15 1 year ago

    Yeah I think this is the turning point for me with Activision too, I will no longer be giving them any of my money. Shouldn't be too hard anyway, don't they only publish 1 franchise now?

    RIP Bizarre, I'll always remember PGR 3 and 4. Good luck in future to the devs.

  • sfp_noodle #16 1 year ago

    I can't believe MS didn't rehire these guys! Why the hell did they let them go in the first place!? Also surprised Sony didn't buy them and merge them with Polyphony Digital. Bizzare Creations have been excellent at making online racers function perfectly from day one so they could have handled all of the online side of current and future Gran Turismo games whilst PD focussed on their part. A match made in heaven surely and I'm surprised none of them made a move.

    A sad day for gaming. After the excellent PGR4 and Geometry Wars I could never predict that these guys would end up being so badly managed and let go. None of their games had any kind of decent advertising whilst working for Activision and that is the only reason their games failed to find a significant audience. Blur is excellent but WHAT THE FUCK were Acti thinking advertising it as Mario Kart for grown ups!? It was so so so SO much more than that. It deserved its own identity.

    There is now not one single franchise left under Activision's name that intrests me so the only good to come from this is that I no longer have to boycot their games. They have nothing that holds any importance in the gaming world. With EA and EPIC taking shots at the COD franchise recently, they are only highlighting how boring their one and only key franchise has become. The public isn't that thick. I can honestly say that there will never be a day where the world will rejoice at an organisation going under when Activision do. They're a hate machine. Even when they try and say something positive it sounds like its coming from an utter prick. Burn in hell Activision, no-one will miss you when your gone. NO-ONE.

  • metalangel #17 1 year ago

    Blur wasn't excellent. It was decent but launched in the worst possible way (wrong time, wrong marketing) and so it died an undeserved death... a bit like Bizarre.

    Let Activision die without dragging good studios down with them.

  • login_name #18 1 year ago

    Wow I never thought I would see the day :(

    Even though I've not sync'd well with some of their titles (F1, god I hated testing that, sorry) I've loved Bizarre since Fatal Rewind/Killing Game Show and Wiz N Liz days. End of an era.

    I hope you guys reform and rise out the ashes. There's some talent in that studio, there really is.

  • DozyKipper #19 1 year ago

    I liked Blur. But no-one on PC played it. Will the servers go down now?

  • savant #20 1 year ago

    I've been playing Bizarre Creations' racers since Metropolis Street Racer on my Dreamcast. It's sad to see them go. Let's hope the talented staff will either reform under a new banner or be picked up by other studios soon.

  • BBIAJ #21 1 year ago

    @duckmouth:

    Microsoft own the PGR IP, and already have someone lined up to continue the brand.

    Bizarre Creations burnt their bridges with them when they bad mouthed them on their way to Activision, or so I've heard...

    RIP BC, I still play the PGR's, The Club, Blur, 007 Bloodstone, and even Fur Fighters, both the Dreamcast original, and the cel-shaded voice dubbed PStwo re-release.

    Ah, good times...

  • Nithron #22 1 year ago

    Surely closing down this number of decent developers is going to hit the quality of upcoming releases in a couple of years?

    Being "only as good as your last hit" seems pretty harsh when commercial success is very unpredictable, and it takes so long to produce a game.

    On the other hand, if they all get rehired, but in separate teams - we may see an increase in good, but original ideas appearing. Every cloud, so to speak.
    Edited by Nithron at 15/02/11 @ 02:41

  • Hunam #23 1 year ago

    I think Microsoft passed them up this time because they have Forza now and don't really need another racing studio.

  • CableNut #24 1 year ago

    well i love blur, always on it online.

    where does this stand with the login servers, do bizarre creation run these or microsoft

    and if bizarre creations do, will they be switched off when the doors close ?
    Edited by CableNut at 15/02/11 @ 05:03

  • Sylpharion #25 1 year ago

    Wow... I don't even know what to say right now. A seriously talented studio, gone...

    Rest in peace Bizarre.

  • Super_Zee #26 1 year ago

    GW:RE2 is one of my all-time favourite games and Blur is the best arcade racer of this generation. So sad to see Bizarre disappear, best of luck to everyone there.

    Activision must need their fucking heads read, I would have been so proud to have Blur (and Singularity) on my roster.

  • jonharrispro #27 1 year ago

    Activision strikes again. This is becoming a daily thing. Out of curiosity how many studios do cActivision own. How many independants have they bought out?

  • Telepathic.Geometry #28 1 year ago

    Is no developer safe?

  • KD #29 1 year ago

    Wiz n Liz, F1 97, MSR, PGR 2+3 and blur some of my most memorable games. All the best to them but shame it came to closure.

  • izhoooo #30 1 year ago

    Requiescat in pace.

  • nasanu #31 1 year ago

    Thanks for your work in ignoring the racing community when when cheats ruined online competition in EVERY SINGLE ONE of your racing games. Oh but when someone figured out a way to change the colors of cars you patched that quick smart. Reason No.1 why I stopped buying your products.

    Bye bye now.

  • barnard666 #32 1 year ago

    indeed maximum sadness...no doubt the geometry wars franchise will be left to rot now. whilst their shooters weren't too great, and racing games are facing a decline in popularity, I find it very hard to believe that their collective expertise was not worth the investment of keeping them open.

  • barnard666 #33 1 year ago

    indeed maximum sadness...no doubt the geometry wars franchise will be left to rot now. whilst their shooters weren't too great, and racing games are facing a decline in popularity, I find it very hard to believe that their collective expertise was not worth the investment of keeping them open.

  • DreadedWalrus #34 1 year ago

    Oh, fucking hell. Hope they find jobs quickly.

  • rob76 #35 1 year ago

    While Activision deserve lynching for this enormous waste of talent, the BC bosses cannot escape without guilt when it was them that sold their soul to Activision in the first place.

    PGR3 is what kept the 360 on top in the early days. Come on MS, you owe them one even if they were not very graceful when they fled to Activision.

  • RodHull #36 1 year ago

    Best of luck to these talented developers. Will always remember them as being the first devs to truly master online console gaming with PGR2 and for making me shell out 800 notes for a HD telly to marvel at Geometry Wars RE's beautiful explosions.

  • Fatnick #37 1 year ago

    Bizarre had been going for 17 years before Activision bought them. Activision killed them in 3. top work Acti!

  • GREASYL0VER #38 1 year ago

    Shame ... I only just started playing 007 - Blood Stone and the brief shot I had of it was good fun.

    Hopefully they'll spring up somewhere again before long.

  • AgentBalti #39 1 year ago

    Some of my absolute best gaming moments ever, offline and online, were with PGR3. This is a real sad loss. Let's hope they come back in another guise very soon.

    RIP, BC, RIP. :'(

  • TitusCrow #40 1 year ago

    I'm sure I remember 1st seeing that little pumpkin in a game by them for my C64 or was it the Atari st... to far away now to remember. In modern times I 1st remember playing MSR on the dreamcast.. thought it was amazing and they were in a class nearly of their own at those types of games.

    I get the feeling that its new hardware and eye candy that drives racing games most = along with a excellent game of course. Maybe this generations never ending longevity is a part of the culprit here too.

    RIP guys

  • Milk #41 1 year ago

    Ouch!

    That is a bit of a shock!

  • DanMW #42 1 year ago

    .:T_T:.

  • evild_edd #43 1 year ago

    :'(

    I could still argue a case for Geometry Wars being my favourite game of this generation. Will have to get a GW2 session in some point this week.

  • Diabeu #44 1 year ago

    sad;[ I loved The Club, best racing game amongst shooters

  • wowami #45 1 year ago

    this is terrible news.
    Doing the first lap on MSR was a stunning moment. "but but its like being there!"
    Thanks for the memories. We'll always remember ya.

  • Vin #46 1 year ago

    [link url=http://uk.xbox360.ign.com/articles/823/823562p1.html
    ]http://uk.xbox360.ign.com/articles/823/8...[/link]

    Knew it was inevitable from the moment I read that interview. Also, God knows the thinking behind the Bungie deal.

  • ThePissartist #47 1 year ago

    Harsh. Seems like a waste.

  • Freek #48 1 year ago

    Acitivision strip mining style of game production strikes again.

  • sickpuppysoftware #49 1 year ago

    Shame, I might load up Blur tonight and see if I can finally get the online working.

  • Gojiratron #50 1 year ago

    :'(


    I think I'm going to dig out the Dreamcast and pay tribute with some MSR.

  • coolbritannia #51 1 year ago

    55 comments in and no mention of PGR2? Clearly the highlight of the series and possibly the greatest racer ever made?

  • Diomedes117 #52 1 year ago

    Well, here's the irony:
    " Chudley says studio was sold ‘to ensure security for its employees and their families’ "

    http://www.develop-online.net/news/30278...

  • Fuser #53 1 year ago

    @Vin That interview made me cringe - "long-term game path with Activision is extremely exciting!" OUCH
    "we've always been financially stable and thankfully been very successful with our games" - then why do a deal with Activison FFS???.
    "they're a very developer-centric publisher, who work hard to nurture their studios by providing support if it's needed" - NOT!

    so so sad.
    Good luck to all the team - I hope they find work quickly.

  • bad09 #54 1 year ago

    Thank you for MSR and PGR 1-3 (wasn't so hot on 4). I can't say anything after that from them interested me to be honest but it's always sad when a dev who made games you loved go under.

    Gojiratron you have the right idea there, might have to be done just to see that real time clock and wow a few people again as the sun sets on the game and out the window. Such a simple thing but it amazed the hell out of me and others back then :)

    / pets Dreamcast

    That'll do Dreamcast, that'll do.
    Edited by bad09 at 15/02/11 @ 08:26

  • JoeGBallad #55 1 year ago

    This is such horrible news. I've actually just started a playthrough of the sublime (and bastard hard) Metropolis Street Racer on Dreamcast. I remember when I first played it back in the day, I had a feeling that Bizarre would be unstoppable frontrunners in the industry. PGR3, The Club and Blur cemented that for me, but obviously Activision's own bizarre strategy didn't take.

    Let's be clear here: Activision DID kill Bizarre. When amedium sized but proven hitmaker becomes part of an empire like activision, the deal goes both ways. Bizarre kept up their end of the bargain, making the fantastic Blur, but activation obviously couldn't be arsed trying to sell it (and to the uninitiated, it is a hard sell.)

    Ah well, my pals are coming over for some MVC3 this weekend, but we all know we're going to end up playing Blur half the night.

    Good luck to all at Bizarre. It would be a real shame if this setback stopped many of your staff's considerable talents from finding their way forward in the industry.

  • TheBoyChris #56 1 year ago

    Sad, sad times... I'll miss that place :'(

  • shamblemonkee #57 1 year ago

    Seems an odd way to treat the Publishers highest metascoring new IP of last year...

  • Tinrib72 #58 1 year ago

    Gutted. PGR3 and Geometry Wars were the reasons I bought a 360 in the first place. Still give The Club a blast now and then (cult classic).

    Sad times, though it was inevitable with Activision at the wheel. Watch out Bungie...

  • Koborover #59 1 year ago

    It was unfortunate that Blur came out at the same time as Split/Second, it divided the arcade racing audience.

  • johnboy_johsnon #60 1 year ago

    Want to wish all the guys the best of luck. Had the balls, skill and courage to release the excellent MSR on the Dreamcast when most developers were ditching the system for the more profitable PS2. Will always remember the good times.

  • Phreez #61 1 year ago

    Gutted for them. Sad times.

  • Harlequeen #62 1 year ago

    Hard to add more than what has already been said, but Bizarre since MSR have added a nice but simple twist to racing games that made them all lthe more addictive, without (necessarily) a Pokemon style collect them all obsession.

    And Geometry Wars is close to my favourite game of all time.

    Bugger RIP, "Do not go gentle into that good night."

  • AtomicBanana Verified Level Designer, Playground Games #63 1 year ago

    Logged hundreds upon hundreds of hours in PGR 2,3 and 4. My favorite game to bridge the gap between sim and arcade. Not to mention the faultless geometry wars. Life isn't fair when one of the best UK studios goes down.

  • DirectAim #64 1 year ago

    Crazy, they made some quality games, I'm sure they will be missed and I can't believe no one bought them, fair enough they may not of made a billion for activision but I'm sure they made profit! They had to with releases like that!!

    RIP

    DIE Activision!

    I'm now not going to buy COD I'll get BF3!

  • desperado67 #65 1 year ago

    Wow. I'd forgotten just how good the PGR's were. New York in the heavy rain or snow was always my particular favourite. Its a real shame that no-one would pick up the studio as I feel there is still a lot more you could get out of PGR. Activision srikes again. Just for old tiimes sake i think i'll give it a re-run tonite.

  • The-Bodybuilder #66 1 year ago

    For those lambasting MS as being the complete bad guys in this, read this link first;
    [link url=http://www.joystiq.com/2009/05/07/bizarre-creations-discusses-microsoft-relationship-activision-acqui/
    ]http://www.joystiq.com/2009/05/07/bizarr...[/link]

    The BC bosses have a lot to say too. They got bitter and jealous over MS's fondness of Forza, believing MS did not do enough to market their games (Ironic considering the issue with blur) and sold their souls to Evil Inc. (Acti) and had the audacity to take parting shots at MS, believing the grass was greener on the other side. Now you expect MS to take them back?

    Edit: I'm sure their intentions to join Acti was sound. But as the saying goes, a dance with the devil may last forever. Now they're all paying the price. :(

    Still a massive shame to the actual devs. I loved MSR. Maybe SEGA can take them and give birth to MSR 2. Maybe....
    Edited by The-Bodybuilder at 15/02/11 @ 09:27

  • ladbroke #67 1 year ago

    This is a damn shame.

  • McBradders #68 1 year ago

    Disgusting.

  • StolenGlory #69 1 year ago

    Mirror's Edge 2 yesterday and now this.

    It fucking sucks to be emotionally invested in good IP's.

  • IkariW #70 1 year ago

    "Bizarre is a very talented team of developers, however, because of the broader economic factors impacting the market, we are exploring our options regarding the future of the studio, including a potential sale of the business,"

    Broader economic factors? what like making too much money?

    -First five days sale record of $550 million of Modern Warfare2,

    -First day profits from Black Ops amounted to $360 million,

    -World of warcraft: In 2007 the titlel generated revenues of $1.1 billion with operating margins of more than 40%, creating some $520 million of operating profit. God knows what its making now!

    So your telling me, that a company thats pulling in that kind of revenue, can't give one of its companies a second chance by off setting it against the mega profits they are making elsewhere?
    Bizarre have a track record of developing quality titles, the fact that Activision got Bizarre making THEIR shit licenses is never mentioned. (Bond when there wasn't a film for sales to ride on was never going to work.)

    Plus, Blur came out with bad marketing and during a bad time slot for new I.P. Surely thats Activisions job to make sure that doesn't effect the games sales? as the software itself was of good quality.

    I for one will surely miss Bizarre Creations, and I wish all the staff there the best of luck for the future. Don't let one company, in this case Activision, cause us to lose your talent from the industry entirely because of their bullsh!t working practices.

    Okay rant over.
    Edited by IkariW at 15/02/11 @ 09:47

  • loveless #71 1 year ago

    As much as I would like to rant at Activision, the entire industry must be entirely fucked in the head to let a talented, consistent and inventive studio like Bizarre close.

    I'm not a huge fan of Blur, as I don't particularly like the combat/racing genre as a whole, but Metropolis/PGR has been the most amazing racing series, The Club was fun and different, Geometry Wars awesome.

    All we need is Rockstar to close now, and we can stick a fork in the entire games industry and declare it 'done'.

  • IkariW #72 1 year ago

    ^^^ You got that right....

  • Doctor_What #73 1 year ago

    Good luck to all involved. With the talent at that studio, I certainly hope other studios welcome them.

  • BEXANT #74 1 year ago

    I just can't believe that no one wanted to buy such a talented and experienced studio! Unbelievable! A great loss to us all. Let us only hope that the talent moves on to other studios that utilise that flair and unbelievable understanding of gameplay mechanics.

  • Syrette #75 1 year ago

    Amazed MS didn't purchase them.

    Or Sony.

    Disappointed either way.

  • Ignatius_Cheese #76 1 year ago

    How Bizarre Creations has been left to fail is an appalling travesty of mismanagement and poor publisher investment.

    Let's only hope that lessons can be learned from this sad outcome.

  • aphex187 #77 1 year ago

    In the year 2013 hopefully we will see the same headlines but with Activisions name instead, heres hoping!

  • PlugMonkey #78 1 year ago

    el_pollo_diablo
    If I was a developer currently making a game for Activision, I'd be polishing my cv right now.

    If you were a developer currently making a game for Activision, you would be working at Blizzard, Treyarch or Bungie - seeing as pretty much everyone else has been shitcanned.

    Re: 'Broader economic factors'
    Bloodstone didn't sell. Blur didn't sell. The Club didn't sell. The sad truth is that four years is a long time without a hit in this industry.

  • BBIAJ #79 1 year ago

    Can everyone please stop mentioning Bungie?

    Activision do NOT own them, it is a 10 year publishing deal only.

  • pigeon_g4mer #80 1 year ago

    Activision...Actively fucking the games industry.

  • andywilkie35 #81 1 year ago

    Fuck you Activision, fuck you indeed.

    PGR2 was the best racer last gen, and PGR4 was the best this gen (closely followed by PGR3). Blur was absolutely outstanding too. It's almost baffling how Activision could fuck up the handling of such a great studio.

  • urbannomad123 #82 1 year ago

    Blur was pretty great, and one of the more enjoyable (and reliable) online experiences I have had in a while. It is going to take something quite extraordinary to make me buy another Activision game. Luckily, I get my FPS kicks on Battlefield: Bad Company 2. I suggest others do the same.

  • BigDaddy82 #83 1 year ago

    Blur was ok, the single player was a bit dull but the online was fun, i suspect people will look upon it more favourably now that Bizarre have gone. That being said, it's always a shame when something like this happens, so good luck to all those involved.

  • MadDave123 #84 1 year ago

    T_T

  • Lebowski #85 1 year ago

    Best of luck to all the talented staff finding new jobs.

    PGR2 was and still is the best online racer. No-one has ever come close to matching its feel, lobby banter and rivalry. PGR3 and 4 suffered, IMO by not sticking to the basics and the sheer agony of their load ... ing ... time ...s.

  • chrism_scotland #86 1 year ago

    Terrible news, Bizzare made one of my favourite games ever F1 '97 on the PS1!
    I'm really shocked that someone like Sega haven't taken them on.

    Also are Activision the new EA? I hope now that the growth in Indie studios can rid us of EA and Activisions dominance.
    Edited by chrism_scotland at 15/02/11 @ 11:16

  • davisorle #87 1 year ago

    Post deleted at 15:13:14 09-05-2012

  • FalseAlibi #88 1 year ago

    gutted for all at BC and for the loss to gamers :(

  • RedSparrows #89 1 year ago

    PGR 2 is the best racer i've ever played. 3 and 4 were close behind. sad times.

  • BillyBrush #90 1 year ago

    To be perfectly honest they had a good thing going with Microsoft, thought the grass was greener, turns out some jippo had dumped some toxic waste under next doors field and the bright green was just radiation. Shit happens.

    They've got too much for it to just die like this, I'm sure. Why would a buyer want to pay off Activision for Bizarre Creations when they can buy 'Barmy Inventions' next week and all the money goes into a game production. Shirley someone will be snapping up a new studio soon?

  • Fatnick #91 1 year ago

    "Let's be clear here: Activision DID kill Bizarre. When amedium sized but proven hitmaker becomes part of an empire like activision, the deal goes both ways. Bizarre kept up their end of the bargain, making the fantastic Blur, but activation obviously couldn't be arsed trying to sell it (and to the uninitiated, it is a hard sell.)"

    The sad thing was that BC were great at coming up with fresh game concepts, but publishers (MS included)only seem to have been interested in sequels/licenses etc. It's a shame they weren't bought by Sega really, considering that it was Sega who gave them the space to develop MSR and the Club.

  • PlugMonkey #92 1 year ago

    @chrism_scotland

    Activision were the new EA about 2 years ago. Now, they're in a league of their own.

    Even in the darkest days of EA's Need for Speed and Medal of Honor annual update cycle, they were still publishing stuff like Burnout 3. This put them in good stead when they needed Criterion to crank out a hugely successful NFS update 7 years later.

    The question for Activision with their current strategy is this: If Treyarch start experiencing the kind of fatigue that Black Box were 2 years ago, who are they going to be able to turn to to rejuvinate their franchises? Their egg to basket ratio looks less than ideal.

  • agparrot #93 1 year ago

    If you didn't buy Blur, though, you are part of the problem.

  • actionfitz #94 1 year ago

    Had an Interview with them once.
    Seemed like a nice bunch of guys.
    best of luck.

  • dr_shambles #95 1 year ago

    I remember the hours spent enjoying their games from the halcyon days of Dreamcast onwards. This is a really sad day for the UK games industry. Activision may think they've won this one, but karma's a bitch. Good luck to everyone.
    Edited by dr_shambles at 15/02/11 @ 13:13

  • MiY4MOTO #96 1 year ago

    Gutted. Was holding onto a sliver of hope that MS might re-acquire them for more PGR / Geometry Wars fun.

    Sad sad day.

    Good luck to all the guys & gals at Bizarre Creations, your games meant something to me and you will be missed!

  • TonyHarrison #97 1 year ago

    Damn you Activision, damn you...

  • Dan41187 #98 1 year ago

    *facepalms*

    Good luck to all the BC guys, and 'fuck you' to activision.

  • Stroller4 #99 1 year ago

    The day after I saw Metropolis Street Racer, I bought a DC. So I owe them a great many thanks for that alone.

    When it came to racing games, they never let me down. Much Kudos.

    I can only hope that they all find new employment in the near future.

  • LeSpank #100 1 year ago

    "Activision exec Coddy Johnson explained that the publisher had "explored a lot of leads – pretty much anyone you can imagine in the industry. But unfortunately, so far we've not been able to find any interested parties. So we've made as a last resort, a recommendation to the team for closure."

    Activision exec CODDY Johnson!? LoLzzz

  • TaoJay #101 1 year ago

    PGR2 & PGR3 are great racing games, the hours I put into both of those was pretty high, I am grateful to have played and enjoyed some Bizzare Creations.

  • Krusty #102 1 year ago

    Absolutely criminal that a studio of that quality can be let go for some twats fucking short-term dividends.

    I hope Acti's plan to grab Take-two falls on it's arse and they are truly left with shit all but CoD.
    I'd also like to see Blizzard fuck them off; they have more than enough money to not need a publisher surely?!

  • gelf #103 1 year ago

    Sad day, I loved MSR even though I was shit at it.

  • SlumpJunk #104 1 year ago

    Incredibly sad news.

    A development team that was focused on creating games around gameplay first, not graphics, or sandbox games instead of real design.

  • betrayerofhope #105 1 year ago

    So who was going to buy them really?

    Sony has motorstorm and gran turismo devs

    MS plainly didn't give a damn about bizarre for some reason.

    EA have got criterion and those folks at shift unleashed.

  • IronCladChicken #106 1 year ago

    'MS plainly didn't give a damn about bizarre for some reason. '

    'The Bodybuilder' came up with a Kotaku link about that Bizarre Creations discusses Microsoft relationship, Activision acquisition

    he blub states;
    'Chudley described Microsoft's presence near the end as "corporate and cocky," attributing most of that to the shift in power between Microsoft and Sony this generation. He added that the company has always been too focused on the Forza games, seemingly neglecting to give the PGR franchise the marketing push and focus Bizarre Creations always felt it deserved.

    Enter Activision, which showed a lot of interest, especially considering the lack of a proven racing franchise to call its own. Bizarre Creations hopes to produce such a hit with Blur, its first title following its acqusition by Activision. We expect to see more of the game -- including that franchise potential -- during this year's E3.'

  • dutchspeededup #107 1 year ago

    So lame. Good luck to all concerned.

  • AndyMP #108 1 year ago

    Very sad news. Hopefully all those talented people find themselves new work. Would love to see somebody salvage that studio at the last minute but it doesn't look like it.