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Lucid's new racer is 2K Drive, coming to iOS in early September
Lucid Games, a UK developer formed in the wake of Bizarre Creations' closure in February 2011, announced its new game, 2K Drive. At least, it showed off an announcement trailer for the game, which has been out in the Netherlands for over two months. Published by 2K Games, 2K Drive is a iOS-exclusive racer that boasts licensed cars, real-world locations and "console quality graphics." Completing races will earn players stars and coins to upgrade their vehicles as well as purchase "boosts" and new cars entirely. Lucid Games have not revealed a price or in which regions the game will launch, but it noted via Twitter that it will not be free to play. The developer also tweeted that it is aiming to launch 2K Drive in "early September." Once glance at our calendars tells us that's pretty soon.
Former Bizarre Creations and Tiny Invaders studio Hogrocket closed
Hogrocket, the mobile game development team comprised of former Bizarre Creations staff is on "indefinite hiatus." Hogrocket was one of three studios formed in the wake of Bizarre Creations' closure in February 2011. "This was due to a combination of factors, ranging from geographical to financial. It's sad but the three of us all learned a lot," Hogrocket's Peter Collier told GamesIndustry.biz.The England-based "micro studio" released Tiny Invaders on iOS in March 2011, and Bizarre Creations was known for its work on the Project Gotham Racing series as well as the creation of Geometry Wars. Stephen Cakebread, Technical Director at Hogrocket and Geometry Wars designer, left Hogrocket in September 2011 according to his LinkedIn profile.
TIGA: UK 'brain drain' sees nearly half of laid-off devs leaving country
Britain's developer workforce has fallen 10 percent since 2008, and 41 percent of studio employees laid off between 2009 and 2011 have relocated out of the country, UK-games trade association TIGA reports. TIGA is publishing a survey from Games Investor Consulting that covers three-fourths of the UK games industry and warns of a brain drain in the UK.Bizarre Creations, a Liverpool studio that closed in 2010, saw one-third of its former employees leave the UK for new jobs in the games industry, according to the report. It also claims that countries such as Canada can entice UK talent because they benefit from tax breaks that reduce the cost of game development. The UK currently doesn't have comparable tax breaks, but "the video games industry is exactly the kind of sector that the Government should be supporting to help rebalance the UK economy," TIGA CEO Richard Wilson says.
In Memoriam: Twelve studios we lost in 2011
Beyond the game industry's expected annual layoffs and studio closures, 2011 saw a variety of surprisingly high-profile devs shut their doors ... forever. From Geometry Wars/Project Gotham Racing dev house Bizarre Creations in the UK to LA Noire creator Team Bondi in Australia and even Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom devs Game Republic in Japan, it wasn't a good year to need a stable job in game development. IGN has a rundown of twelve especially notable losses (including the aforementioned studios, sans Game Republic), which run the gamut of industry publishers. As it turns out, it's not one particular publisher that's especially willing to cut studios in the face of financial loss -- it's all of them. [Image credit: Flickr user 'age_six_racer']
Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg on True Crime, Bizarre Creations, the 'Hero' franchise, and transparency
When Eric Hirshberg stepped into the role of CEO of Activision Publishing last July, the company had just begun an ugly, public battle with the founders of Infinity Ward, having fired the creators of the company's Call of Duty cash cow just four months prior. Frequently villainized in the press, the appointment of Hirshberg seemed to indicate that Activision was eager to turn its brand identity around. Hirshberg cut his teeth as CEO and chief creative officer of marketing firm Deutsch LA making ad campaigns for brands like PlayStation -- you may not recognize that name, but if you've seen a Kevin Butler commercial, you know his work. And as Activision Publishing narrows its focus and energies into a few key brands, notably the aforementioned Call of Duty, tasking a marketing man with running a game publisher starts to make a lot of sense. Last month I had the opportunity to speak with Hirshberg in his office at Activision headquarters in Santa Monica. It was less than a week after a massive leak upended the company's carefully prepared marketing plan for the latest in the blockbuster Modern Warfare series and, for Hirshberg, it was a chance to connect with that audience. "We woke up with a marketing crisis," Hirshberg told me, "and wanted to go to bed with a marketing win." Throughout our conversation, Hirshberg mentioned the need to be transparent with consumers, so I challenged him to explain some of the company's more controversial decisions since he's been CEO: the cancellation of True Crime; the closure of Bizarre Studios; and the very public retreat from the Guitar Hero and DJ Hero games.
Video report catches up with new studios born from Bizarre's closure
Though the studio behind gems like Project Gotham Racing and Geometry Wars may be dissolved, the individuals behind those projects have not dissolved, which is very, very fortunate for them. Rather, a number of ex-Bizarre Creations staffers have moved on to create three independent studios (so far) -- all of which are the subject of a recent video report from Eurogamer. Check out the 14-minute video for an in-depth look at Lucid, Hogrocket and Curly Rocket's strategies for making their post-Activision ventures a success. If we might make one humble suggestion: Lucid should probably change its name to something with "rocket" in it. Just think of the powerful media conglomerate you three could create if aligned under the same jet-propelled banner!
Bizarre fell into 'making games to fill slots,' says ex-creative director
Members of defunct developer Bizarre Creations recently provided Edge with more insight into what eventually led to the studio's shuttering. The general impression, beyond former design manager Gareth Wilson's reiteration of a "perfect storm of unfortunate circumstances," is that Bizarre's independent culture began to deteriorate following the Activision acquisition. "We weren't an independent studio making 'our' games anymore," said former creative director Martyn Chudley. "We were making games to fill slots. Although we did all believe in them, they were more the products of committees and analysts. The culture we'd worked on for so long gradually eroded just enough so that it wasn't 'ours' anymore." Chudley also claimed that the studio was given the opportunity to buy itself back, but as commercial manager Sarah Chudley explained it, the studio had grown considerably since the Activision takeover and "we just didn't have the skills, capability or finances to look after over 200 people." Without a third party coming in to assume control, it seemed wiser for everyone to walk away.
Hogrocket's Ben Ward speaks out on Bizarre closure
Bizarre Creations community manager-turned-Hogrocket co-founder Ben Ward recently spoke to Eurogamer about the steps that led to his change of employ. The most important query -- what the hell is a Hogrocket? -- goes sadly unanswered. However, Ward explained how his former studio changed with its Activision acquisition, explaining, "for better or worse Bizarre became more 'corporate'." Ward explained he wasn't hurt by the closure, saying, "Those guys wouldn't be top of their game if they didn't make difficult decisions." He added his former publishing partner "has strived to redistribute Bizarre peeps to other Activision studios throughout the world." As for the future of Hogrocket, Ward shot down the obvious answer for the studio's indie game debut: "It's not Geometry Wars," Ward said. "What Hogrocket is working on now is a completely new IP." Trigonometry Battles? We can only hope.
Ex-Bizarre devs form 'micro-studio' Hogrocket
As you peruse the smoldering remains of Bizarre Creations, you catch the faintest stirring out of the corner of your eye. You turn just in time to see, there, rising from the ashes, it's ... a pig in a spaceship? Okay, so we don't know why Bizarre refugees Ben Ward (studio communications), Peter Collier (former level designer) and Geometry Wars creator Stephen Cakebread settled on "Hogrocket" as the name for their new UK studio, but we're glad to see them getting back to work. The freshly announced "micro-studio" says it'll target iPad/iPhone with its first batch of games. It may be a little early for such proclamations, but if Hogrocket turns out mobile games as addictive as Geometry Wars with any regularity then ... well, this little piggy will be going to our wallets more times than we care to think about.
Former Bizarre employees create 'Lucid Games'
Some former staff of Bizarre Creations, which was shut down this month by owner Activision, have announced the formation of a new studio called Lucid Games. In an announcement, new managing director Pete Wallace said, "With the great history of Bizarre behind us, we are proud to be part of Lucid and are committed to the UK game development community." Lucid is expected to create more than 50 new jobs. In doing so, Lucid will have assistance from economic development company Liverpool Vision, which hopes to keep the Bizarre talent in Liverpool. "This world class talent combined with a very credible and experienced management team, we believe offers the best future for a sustainable and viable business within the significant Liverpool gaming sector," said Liverpool Vision digital industry director Steve Smith. "It should be stressed that Bizarre was very successful and Activision's actions were driven by global economics and not by any failure of the creative talent based in Liverpool." Lucid plans to "build a studio which encourages open communication with its partners, customers and other developers," according to Wallace. Lucid is currently accepting CVs via email, and representatives of the studio will be on hand at GDC next week to meet with interested parties.
Bizarre's Wilson: 'perfect storm' led to studio's death
Less than a week after we said "goodbye" to Bizarre Creations, the Blur-ry details of what killed the developer are starting to come into focus. Eurogamer has an interview with Gareth Wilson, former design manager at the studio, who has since gone on to take a position at Sumo Digital. Wilson called Bizarre's death a "perfect storm of unfortunate circumstances." Wilson explained that getting attention for Blur, a new IP, at this point in the console cycle, was difficult -- especially with high-quality breakouts and juggernaut competition on the field. He believes that the quality of the competition, along with the state of the global economy, meant that gamers weren't ready to "take a risk." He points out several other quality IPs like Enslaved, Alan Wake and Vanquish that also struggled in 2010. Wilson now feels that the "middle ground," selling two to three million units is "getting hard to find," explaining "Games either 'break out' and sell four million plus, or really struggle to break even."
Bizarre Creations lead Gareth Wilson now Sumo Digital lead designer
Bizarre Creations was a UK studio well-known for its street racing games, the first of which was on a Sega console. So if there's anywhere else design manager Gareth Wilson would feel at home, it's at Sumo Digital, the British studio responsible for developing the modern OutRun games and Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing for Sega. Wilson is the first known Bizarre staffer to announce a new position after the sad closure of that company. He is now the lead designer at the Foundation 9-owned Sumo, and will no doubt be in charge of a great many racing games.
Bizarre Creations farewell video is legitimately sad
We wouldn't check out the video after the jump if you're planning on having a day of unbridled happiness and positivity. It's Bizarre Creations' farewell video, released today, the last day of the studio's existence -- and, as you might imagine, it's super poignant and sad. We'll miss you, Bizarre!
Bizarre Creations closes its doors this Friday
Though Activision's recent decisions will result in the wholesale freezing of a number of its business units, let's not forget one developer that was sentenced to a similar fate last November: Bizarre Creations. According to Develop, the studio will permanently shutter the doors of its Liverpool studio this coming Friday, February 18. We know this is kind of bummer news to share with you on Valentine's Day, but let's look at it this way: Here's a chance for us to talk about all our favorite Bizarre titles! (What's that? Cho Aniki Zero? No, no -- Bizarre Creations titles.) Feel free to use the comments to send a little love out to this deserving developer.
Activision finds no Bizarre buyers, recommends closure
Activision has recommended Bizarre Creations for closure, saying it has exhausted other options. Speaking with Develop, Activision Worlwide Studios' COO Coddy Johnson said he wanted "to be clear" that the publisher tried to keep the group together by finding a buyer, but after exploring leads with "pretty much anyone you can imagine in the industry," they were left with the option of "last resort." Activision made it known in early November that the Liverpool-based studio had entered a consultation period, a 90-day phase under UK law that warns of potential closure. On the same day as the announcement, Activision closed Iowa-based Budcat in the US. At the time, Activision said that, despite a substantial investment in creating a new IP, Blur did not find a commercial audience. If you are an employee of the studio and have anything more to share, please feel free to contact us.
007: Blood Stone is 050 percent off on Amazon
Dotcom; Amazon dotcom. The online retailer has bled half the price off of Bizarre's non-movie-affiliated James Bond game, James Bond 007: Blood Stone. For today only, you can pick up the latest Daniel Craigventure for $29.99 on PS3 and Xbox 360. The PC and DS versions aren't part of the deal, selling for $44 and $24 respectively. Here's our insane theory: if enough people buy this today (like, eight million or so, depending on how many of these Amazon has in stock), then either Activision will reverse its decision to shutter Bizarre Creations, or some other company will become more eager to throw money at it.
Activision Publishing CEO says perception of the company is different from reality
As co-CEO at ad company Deutsch LA, Eric Hirshberg was partially responsible for turning the PlayStation 3 from something that freaked us out into a platform for the VP of Awesome. Now, HIrshberg is able to comment on a similar turnaround at Activision. As the CEO of the publishing group, he says that "some of Activision's reputational challenges are not based in the reality of the company that I've experienced here so far. ... What I can tell you is since I've been here there's not a day or an hour that goes by without a conversation or focus on creative excellence in delivering great gaming experiences to our fans. That's what this place is focused on and about." Yes, Activision may have put a "for sale" sign on UK racing studio Bizarre, laid off staff at Neversoft and Radical Entertainment and elsewhere, and weakened studio after studio, but Hirshberg says all the cuts are indicative of just how tough this business can be. And even in a tough business, says Hirshberg, "we do everything we can to make the relationships with our developers work, and to find a commercially viable use of their talents, and it's only when we've exhausted every other opportunity that [shutdowns and layoffs] happen." The video game industry, he says, is "a high stakes game when everyone's trying to get into that upper echelon of performance and there's no middle class," which means, presumably, that Activision has to be judicious when choosing who gets to keep working. That may be true, but Hirshberg's going to need more than that if he wants to turn Bobby Kotick into PlayStation's KB.
Report: Bizarre Creations staff morale boosted by buyer talks
Develop reports that anonymous staffers at recently put-on-the-market development studio Bizarre Creations have claimed that morale around the offices has received a boost following a company meeting earlier today. According to Develop's sources, that meeting brought word that a number of interested parties have surfaced who could possibly acquire Bizarre -- though the source didn't name any of those parties, for fear of scaring them away. See, big corporations? They're like baby deer when it comes to acquisitions. One of Develop's sources mentioned Microsoft as one of Bizarre's potential suitors. That might not be the smoothest transition, considering some of the harsh words Bizarre's higher-ups have said about their former relationship. You know whose loving arms we think they should run back to? 1996-era Psygnosis. Now, that there? That was a match made in heaven.
Activision closing Bizarre Creations [Update: Activision confirms, options include 'potential sale']
Well, this blows. Beginning with a NeoGAF thread and followed up by Giant Bomb and VG247, comes rumor that Activision is closing Bizarre Creations, the studio behind the just-released Bond title Bloodstone. It was responsible for Blur, The Club, the Project Gotham Racing series, and downloadable favorite Geometry Wars. The studio, founded in 1994, was acquired by Activision just over three years ago. Giant Bomb's source says that Bizzarre Creations will undergo a "90-day consultation period, statutory redundancy." That sounds ... bad. According to the VG247 report, the cuts would mean a loss of over 200 staffers. We'll let you know as soon as we hear anything official. Stay tuned. [Update: Getting some context for the above quote: Apparently Bizarre isn't closed yet; the 90-day period is required in the UK (where Bizarre is located) before shuttering a business. That 90-day period also serves as a 90-day notice to employees that their company is likely to be closed/sold/downsized/etc. – an official statement should be along shortly.] [Update 2 2:01pm: Activision's 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."] [Update 3 5:55pm: Activision additionally confirmed the closure of Budcat Creations, as well as redundancies in its California-based quality assurance team.]
James Bond: Blood Stone review: Sonic the James Bond
In a month where, after almost a two-year hiatus, we see two new Bond games thrown at us, PS3 and Xbox owners can't help but feel a little jaded when they see the re-vamped GoldenEye headed solely to the Wii. "They got the new GoldenEye with a fancy new controller and all we got was another rip-off 3rd person shooter!" the masses say, clutching their well-worn N64 controller, wracked with guilt over not playing Quantum of Solace in 2008 or, worse, having played GoldenEye: Rogue Agent in 2004. Allow me to squelch your rage with four simple words, angry mob: Blood Stone is fun. %Gallery-100384%
