Plague_Injected
Supreme [H]ardness
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2008
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This from develop-online.net:
The Blur, Geometry Wars and Project Gotham Racing studio closes on Friday; what will be its legacy?
On Friday, February 18th, Bizarre Creations’ Liverpool studio will turn off the lights, lock the windows and close its doors for the final time.
The group made around twenty games over 15 years, growing to around 200 staff at the peak of its success.
The studio officially formed in 1994 under the Bizarre Creations brand, but industry veteran Martyn Chudley had in fact established the outfit back in 1988 under a different name.
Its big break came at the dawn of the first PlayStation – Bizarre had been commissioned a Formula 1 project for the new console.
Formula 1 ‘97 was a commercial success that established Bizarre’s reputation for quality racing games...
In November 2010, when UK dev scene appeared to be in the midst of a financial storm, Activision announced it was exploring the possibility of selling off Bizarre Creations.
A number of companies, including Microsoft, had shown an interest in buying the studio. None committed to a final purchase, however, and in January Activision announced it had given up on trying to sell the group.
Bizarre Creation’s management agreed on Activision’s recommendation to close the studio. Its 200 staff are already being snapped up and snaffled by rival firms – some of which were alleged to have held off saving the studio, because buying redundant developers is a far cheaper option. That, if true, demonstrates how little a developer’s legacy is worth even to this day.