Skip to content
CGMagazine
  • News
  • ArticlesExpand
    • Buyers Guides
    • Features
    • Interviews
    • Previews
    • Spotlight
    • The Vault
  • ReviewsExpand
    • Game Reviews
    • Comic Reviews
    • Anime Reviews
    • Book Reviews
    • Tabletop Reviews
    • Hardware Reviews
    • Music Reviews
    • Movie Reviews
    • TV Reviews
  • Guides
  • Magazine
  • MediaExpand
    • Podcasts
    • Video
    • Sound Off
    • First Fifteen
    • Weekly Goods
    • Video Interviews
    • Video Reviews
  • Store
  • Newswire
Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
CGMagazine
Former Bizarre heads discuss the studio's demise

Former Bizarre heads discuss the studio’s demise

  • Steven Loung Steven Loung
  • April 8, 2011
  • < 1 Minute Read

Ex-senior staffers at Bizarre Creations say the studio’s independent culture vanished once Activision took over.

After Bizarre Creations closed its doors on Feb. 18, many blamed a perfect storm of unforgiving industry conditions and failed IP experimentation. However, Bizarre’s former creative director Martyn Chudley says that Activision played a much larger role in the studio’s eventual demise.

According to Martyn, Activision had taken control of a studio that was “proudly independent,” and Bizarre was hoping that it would be business as usual after the acquisition. As time passed, unfortunately, the “culture” of independence started to erode.

“We weren’t an independent studio making ‘our’ games anymore – we were making games to fill slots,” he said. “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.”

Interestingly, Activision gave Bizarre the opportunity to buy itself back during the three-month search for a buyer, but Sarah Chudley, Martyn’s wife and the former financial manager at Bizarre, says that option simply wasn’t viable.

“Bizarre had grown even more since [Activision] took over and we just didn’t have the skills, capability or finances to look after over 200 people,” she said. “Martyn and I were always small-company people, which is why we stepped aside when we realised it needed big-company skills to manage.”

It’s yet more evidence that gaming can be an unusually cutthroat industry. Blur seemed like a natural project for the studio that made the Project Gotham Racing, but it’s tough to recreate a hit when you’re working in a different corporate culture.  

Source: EDGE

 

Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on linkedin
Share on reddit
Steven Loung

Steven Loung

All Articles

Must Read

Tasha's Cauldron of Everything (Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition) [Roll20] 1

Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything (Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition) [Roll20] Review

Pieces of a Woman (2020) Review 2

Pieces of a Woman (2020) Review

Fitbit Versa 3 Smartwatch Review 1

Fitbit Versa 3 Smartwatch Review

MORE FROM Steven Loung

EA enters into exclusive agreement with Disney to create Star Wars games 1

EA enters into exclusive agreement with Disney to create Star Wars games

Molyneux: The next Xbox should be a games first console 1

Molyneux: The next Xbox should be a games first console

Steam adds subscription model, Darkfall: Unholy Wars first to use it - 2013-04-26 17:10:57

Steam adds subscription model, Darkfall: Unholy Wars first to use it

Dark Souls director says PC port was “half-assed,” promises sequel will be better

Dark Souls director says PC port was “half-assed,” promises sequel will be better

CGMagazine Logo

Advertise with us
Jobs @ CGMagazine
© 2020 CGMagazine Publishing Group

Facebook
Twitter
Youtube
Linkedin
Instagram
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • About Us
  • Policies
  • Jobs
  • Contests
  • CNW News
Menu
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • About Us
  • Policies
  • Jobs
  • Contests
  • CNW News
  • News
  • Articles
    • Buyers Guides
    • Features
    • Interviews
    • Previews
    • Spotlight
    • The Vault
  • Reviews
    • Game Reviews
    • Comic Reviews
    • Anime Reviews
    • Book Reviews
    • Tabletop Reviews
    • Hardware Reviews
    • Music Reviews
    • Movie Reviews
    • TV Reviews
  • Guides
  • Magazine
  • Media
    • Podcasts
    • Video
    • Sound Off
    • First Fifteen
    • Weekly Goods
    • Video Interviews
    • Video Reviews
  • Store
  • Newswire
Search