Activision shutting Bond studio Bizarre Creations

Gaming - 16-11-10

Rumours spread this morning that Activision may be shutting down their studio Bizarre Creations, who were the developers of the new James Bond videogame "Blood Stone" and many notable racing games.

A few hours later, Activision offered this statement:
"Over the past three years since our purchase of Bizarre Creations, the fundamentals of the racing genre have changed significantly. Although we made a substantial investment in creating a new IP, Blur, it did not find a commercial audience. 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."

All 200 employees have been laid off according to industry press, and another source said Bizzarre Creations will be going through a "90-day consultation period, statutory redundancy."

In accordance with UK labor laws, Bizarre staff received the 90-day notice that some type of restructuring or closure could take place.

Industry veterans first started tweeting that Bizarre Creations had been put on notice and was shutting down. Travellers' Tales boss Jon Burton wrote on Twitter: "Sad Day for games developers. Really glad I didn't sell my company to Activision.

Bizarre Creations is based in Liverpool, UK, was founded in 1994 and were acquired by Activision in 2007. Recent titles include "Project Gotham Racing", "Blur" and "Geometry Wars"

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Earlier Story: 'GoldenEye 007' beats 'Call of Duty' in UK games chart, 'Blood Stone' sinks

Later Story: Activision social media whiz hits the net to downplay Bizarre closure

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