Activision looks set to close Bizarre Creations, 200 jobs to go

Console and gaming giant Activision is on the verge of closing Liverpool-based development studio Bizarre Creations.

The firm, which employs some 200 people locally, is known for producing games such as the popular Project Gotham Racing series. Staff at Bizarre were put on a three-month consultation period in November as owner Activision began exploring options of selling or shutting the business.

With this period now running towards its conclusion Activision has released the following statement to the gaming press:

“Having explored a range of options, including a potential sale of the business, and consulted with the staff about the options, we now believe that the only likely option is to close Bizarre Creations.

“Bizarre has been a great partner to Activision and we thank them for all of their efforts.

"We are moving to individual consultation with each of the employees who are provisionally affected by this proposal. These employees are highly skilled. We shall be consulting with them about potential suitable alternative employment, including possible redeployment in other parts of the business within Activision Publishing.

“We will be offering a number of tools and resources, including outplacement counseling services, to those who are impacted and we will continue to consult with employees."

Bizarre, which has been trading on Merseyside for around 17 years, was bought by Activision in a $67m deal back in 2007.

It appears to have been partially undone by the commercial disappointment of its recent Blur racing/combat game, which was released last May. This attracted positive reviews, but failed to ignite the interest of consumers.

Bizarre has recently branched out to realise its Geometry Wars: Touch game through the Apple iTunes store.

www.bizarrecreations.com

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