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Reports are coming in that suggest Activision has shut down at least two of its studios this morning: Geometry Wars creator Bizarre Creations and Blast Works developer Budcat.
While official word on Bizarre's closure has not yet come, several Twitter posts -- as well as a substantial forums thread on NeoGAF -- point to the studio being shut down today, with its entire staff of 200+ employees let go.
Meanwhile, news of Budcat's closure came by way of this PC Gamer story, which cited anonymous developers calling the publication this morning to relay the news.
1UP has reached out to Activision and will update this story as new information is revealed.
Update (11:24am Pacific): Official word has still not come on either of these closures, though "studio sources" speaking to Develop say that Bizarre's 200+ employees were not let go today but, rather, put on three months' notice.
Update (11:36am Pacific): Activision has released the following statement (courtesy Shacknews):
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.
No word yet on the reasoning behind Budcat's closure.
http://www.1up.com/news/activision-shuts-bizarre-creations-budcat
While official word on Bizarre's closure has not yet come, several Twitter posts -- as well as a substantial forums thread on NeoGAF -- point to the studio being shut down today, with its entire staff of 200+ employees let go.
Meanwhile, news of Budcat's closure came by way of this PC Gamer story, which cited anonymous developers calling the publication this morning to relay the news.
1UP has reached out to Activision and will update this story as new information is revealed.
Update (11:24am Pacific): Official word has still not come on either of these closures, though "studio sources" speaking to Develop say that Bizarre's 200+ employees were not let go today but, rather, put on three months' notice.
Update (11:36am Pacific): Activision has released the following statement (courtesy Shacknews):
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.
No word yet on the reasoning behind Budcat's closure.
http://www.1up.com/news/activision-shuts-bizarre-creations-budcat