It is becoming a tale that we're hearing all too often in this economic situation, and something we never want to hear: a development studio closing its doors for good.
IGN has reported that Activision, failing to find a buyer for studio Bizarre Creations, is closing the studio.
Under Activision's wing, Bizarre Creations is best known for creating the fantastic Xbox Live Arcade release Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved. Bizarre Creations were also responsible for the console development of Blur and the licensed James Bond title, Blood Stone. Activision first purchased Bizarre Creations in 2007, prior to that Bizarre developed the Project Gotham Racing series for Microsoft.
We at PixlBit wish the best to the staff at Bizarre Creations in this difficult time.
Man, this sucks. Bizarre is a great developer and it's sad to see them go. I hope the guys who founded the company go on to found something new and continue to make fantastic games. Best of luck to everyone there.
Awwwww, I was hoping for a Geometry Wars 3DS.
What happens to the Geometry Wars IP I wonder.
I looked into it and it would seem that when Activision purchased Bizarre, they also gained ownership of all of their Intellectual Property.
So while Bizarre is now closed, the Geometry Wars property will stay in possession of Activision. I'd wager that Activision will hire back some members of Bizarre, like Geometry Wars designer Stephen Cakebread, if they desire continuing that series.
If not, they can always put a new team on the project and continue the series themselves.