Rumor: Black Rock never had a chance with Disney, employees say
Some former Black Rock Studio employees claim the developer never stood a chance of surviving Disney Interactive's new direction. Last week, Disney announced that it's looking to shut down UK-based Black Rock Studio, developer of Split/Second, after the studio's current project was declined by Disney brass.
"Really, [Disney] were just paying lip-service to us with this talk of the pitch," one anonymous source told Develop. "Anything we suggested wasn't going to be accepted."
The employees claim that Disney had planned to shut down the studio at the start of the year, and that it wasn't in Black Rock's power to change its fate. Given the specificity of UK laws, the timing of the studio layoffs does imply Black Rock's demise was etched in stone and being orchestrated by the House of Mouse all the way back in January.
