An Affectionate Farewell to Bizarre Creations (1994-2011)

127
Richard Walker

As Bizarre Creations closes it doors forever from today, there's a fitting farewell to watch, marking an end to the studio behind such racing greats as the Project Gotham franchise, Metropolis Street Racer and Blur, as well as the superlative Geometry Wars and the last 007 game, Blood Stone, which unfortunately had a lukewarm reception upon its release.

Bizarre Creations' video editor, Eamon Urtone has made an affectionate tribute to his former studio, with a short trailer showing the developer's finest moments in recent years, from PGR 4 to The Club, Blur and Blood Stone.

Founded in 1994, the Liverpool-based Bizarre Creations first made waves with Formula One on the original PlayStation, before moving on to make MSR on SEGA's Dreamcast. That game then went on to set the template for the developer's most fondly-regarded racer, the PGR franchise.

Its arcade shooter, Geometry Wars and its sequel received plaudits from every gamer with a pulse, while later experiments like The Club for SEGA and Blur for Activision, fell somewhat short of expectations. James Bond 007: Blood Stone will go down in history as Bizarre's last game, which is a shame.

Take a look at the video and try your best not to cry. We'll always have Bizarre Creations' games...

[Via VideoGamer]

Comments
127
  • Haven't played any good games from this studio but it sucks 2 be losing ur jobs... If they're talented enough I'm sure they will be picked up by another company.
  • That sucks.
  • I liked a lot of their games. Feel bad that their gone : (
  • LMAO@5 group hug
  • Blur was one of the few games I played by them, but still this is sad to see. Here's hoping the people get picked up by another company!
  • Well that sucks! Loved the PGR games and Blur was alright but seen it coming to be honest!
  • loved all 4 PGR games, not the biggest fan of Blur, haven't played any other bar geometry wars
  • Good video, WOuld have been better if it ended in a bang, Music tembo shoved up, mixed through to another song and some real faced paced street racing. These guys and rockstar my fav devs. Bad times, But im sure they will be back. Acti are stupid if they are just letting them go. Im sure they could be used elsewhere, Then re-grouped when needed! Like the avengers!
  • Shame. The old F1 games on the PS1 we're awesome.
  • @4 lets see the great games you made? you asshat
  • Farewell Bizarre Creations :( what great memories you gave me
  • It's always tough when something like this happens, but I can't help trying to find a positive spin to put on this. There is a lot of talent at Bizarre Creations that WILL find new jobs and opportunities elsewhere while the global economy WILL improve and we, as gamers, WILL have even more memorable games to enjoy in the future.
  • GUTTED
  • Another reason to stay far away from ActiVision. Meanwhile the people that keep pumping out spyro and spider-man games are still employed.
  • PGR games were fantastic but this really goes to show that if developers make mediocre games and not listen to there fans screaming for PGR 5 then you will fail, there later games just lacked effort and good stories. Im sad to see them go but it should act as a warning sign to other devs that are going down the same path.
  • I loved playing Metropolis Street Racer on the Dreamcast and still have fond memories of it and the Project Gotham franchise. Its sad that Activision had to use them so poorly and only released Blood Stone so they could milk the release of Goldeneye for the Wii.
  • @4 - Prat.... They made more than enough great games... And PGR3 paved the way for a lot of racing games this generation. Blur was good fun, 007 Bloodstone i actually really enjoyed, The Club was entertaining and the F1 game on the original Playstation was amazing.. To get to the point, #4, I think you're talking out of your arse. Sad day....
  • I've enjoyed PGR, wasn't all too impressed with Blur, but I was looking forward to another PGR...
  • Blur was a brilliant game, massivly underated, was as good as any recent mario kart, if not better. Susprised they are closed down though, geometry wars and PGR are big hits compared to most games. Quite sad, as they are based in my hometown. I beleive PGR is still going to be made by Turn10.
  • Eh excuse me? They aren't goin anywhere until PGR5 comes out.
  • I had thier formula 1 games on the ps one and played them till my eyes bled, fur fighters was pretty fun too back in the day
  • Will miss PGR :(
  • Yay! That's what you get for creating that terrible Bond Game....Bloodstone.
  • It's like someone just died right in front of me. R.I.P.
  • I agree with 21. I'm not a racing game fan in the slightest, but Blur with a few friends was one of the biggest highlights of 2010 for me. Incredibly underated game. As far as the rest of their stuff goes, just Geo-wars for me was my experience (as far as I know). Racing games are pretty dead in the water, but it seemed like Bizarre was the only team that could do it right in terms of dragging in hardcore and casual, such as myself. Shame to see a talented team die out because they sided with a company that decided to put all their chips on a single franchise.
  • They should have stayed with Microsoft...
  • PGR4 & The Club were pretty bad in my eyes. I played Split Second not Blur so...
  • Bizarre you will be missed your talent was clear to see with a great selection of games
  • said it once, said it again, so sad I won't get Blur 2
  • as sad as I am to see this happening to a uk developer, I can't help but feel their reaping the seeds they sowed by jumping into bed with activision. They'll be missed, MSR was easily my favourite dc game. not played much of their other stuff tho.
  • Any word on the maintenance of Blur's servers? Would be a shame to lose such a fun online experience due to them not necessarily being shutdown, but under monitored.
  • @THE130173 - PGR was (imo) the *best* Arcade Racing series on both the original Xbox and Xbox 360! I think you just don't like the genre :)
  • Aw man... I cried. Such a shame to see this happen. I absloutely loved the MSR and the PGR games. And I personally think that Blur was awesome. No PGR5, no Blur 2... I shall miss them loads. Farewell Bizarre... it HAS been a pleasure!
  • I rate PGR4 as my second favourite racing game on the 360 after GRID.. not a fan of Forza. Geometry Wars was loved by masses and Blur was underplayed/undervalued.. I was on the Brink of getting it until this. Loved the demo though. There is plenty of talent there, why couldn't Acti get them to make another game like PGR4 and advertise it with.. "From the makers of Project Gotham Racing" it would surely sell. I'm sure Geo Wars 3 could have been good. Oh well, RIP, hopefully the individuals get back into work ASAP maybe Turn 10 can hire some of them for PGR5.
  • Was hoping maybe MS could pick them up again and make some more PGR's and a new BLUR
  • I've got both PGRs and Blur, and although I've not played them recently I think they're all really great games. It's a shame to see a great studio close.
  • An amazing stuido who mades some realy enteraining games, the club is an awsome third person score attack shooter, and i fact all the games mentioned in the artical above were awsome. They were severly let down by he publishers with poor advertisng (blur ads vs split second ads) no contest, and by extremly poor elease scheduling. Hope everyone goes on to biger and better things.
  • When I got my X360 back in 2005, the first game I got with it was PGR3. While I wasn't crazy about the game, I can still credit Bizarre to starting me out with my 360, and I loved Blur and Geometry Wars. It's a real shame. I understand Activisions reasonings for doing this from a business standpoint, but it wasn't really necessary. They should at least attach the former employees to other developers now.
  • Nice but should have shown their games before this gen aswell.
  • They shouldnt have touched the 007 license at all, that license has only been used for good once and that was with Goldeneye. So many companies have tried since and all failed, unfortunately with this one is that the company died :( RIP i used to love crusing around Stockholm in PGR2 and i fucking hate racing games
  • Damn they made Geometry Wars? I liked that one, at least, and it's one of my prized completions.
  • Guess not much chance of a Geometry Wars 3 now then, sigh.
  • It always hurts to see a studio go down that made decent quality games. It hurts even more to see the studios behind Two Worlds still not bankrupt!
  • Bizarre Creations made fantastic games. It's a shame that not many people notice it because far too many people play nothing but call of fucking duty.
  • Im going to miss Bizarre Creations love thier games.
  • I hope Microsoft realizes the great loss that the gaming industry is currently seeing and pick them back up again. I loved the PGR games and I loved Blur. It would be a shame to see those series die off :(
  • Its a shame they will be missed
  • Real shame that they're closing. Wish they made a game I enjoyed. Never drawn in enough to complete any of the PGR's though I owned all of them. I'm all for British developers so I am sad. Just finished 007 Blood Stone simply to achievement whore and I can hand on heart say that is an awfull game to be a developer's last....
  • Would be nice if the haters stayed off the thread. Rip guys you are awesome i hope your talent gets put into another set of a class titles. I think we should do a tribute game on pgr 4 or blur to send it off in style.
  • now i want to play pgr4
  • @52 i agree. People need to realize not every game is going to be the level of call of duty or forza, understand that and you'll be able to enjoy games more.
  • May they suffer this coil no more. For once you are free of everything, you are bound by nothing.
  • PGR 3 TOP GAME SAD TO SEE THEM GO!
  • PGR2, PGR3 and PGR 4 are my favourite racing games. I need to do Blur yet. Sad to see them go and probably the end of a great franchise.
  • That is what you get for selling your soul to the devil (Activision)
  • I got my Xbox360 when it first came out and the only games I had for the longest time were PGR3 and Geometry Wars. I think I have enjoyed Geometry wars more than almost any other game. Bizarre will be missed.
  • Sad to see them go, @5 y the discrimination?
  • Thas sucks to hear but thats what happens when you team up with activision, but I do wish these guys the best of luck
  • another great company gone, thanks Activision, why not just stick to CoD and leave small companies alone? and before anyone says anything, i DO like CoD, just dont like big companies buying small ones then shutting them down.
  • Waaaaaaa, No who is going make decent racing games? Really sad to see these guys go down.
  • @4 I've seen some dick comments before, but wow. You sir are the BIGGEST dick I think Ive ever seen.. OT: Really hate that this happened, I enjoyed everything they did and hate there wont be a Blur 2. Once again Activison, you prove just how much your becoming like EA everyday...
  • no more geometry wars....NOOOO (oh and there other games and the job losses of course) but geometry wars had a space in my heart for tackling those leaderboards through bright flashing screens and mayhem, RIP
  • Good Luck To Them For Theirs Future. Look forward Bulletstorm I am so cannot wait for it I been thinking about it lots :)
  • That's what you get for getting with activision. Just look at Freestylr games, such a shame. It saddens me to think bungie will be next. 2 words for you my dear activision: FUCK YOU!!!
  • Activision just continues to prove how much they are truly evil.
  • Shame they had to end on Blood Stone :/
  • Good luck to the employees and their families while they try and look for new employment.
  • It's to bad those games were actually semi good compared to some games out there..
  • I'm laughing at all the negative thumbs down for people saying shit about the company going belly up. It's true. I've never liked any of their games, Blur was a "little" fun.....thankfully I just played the mp demo and didn't purchase the game...or any other of their games for that matter. Otherwise I'd be playing games that a now dead company wouldn't be able to support. In truth.....and this goes for ANY and ALL kinds of products...If you make shitty, half-assed products people will not bite and you'll be standing in the soup line. Make quality games and LISTEN TO YOUR FANS and then maybe you'll be successful.
  • @72 If you think PGR 3&4 are "shitty, half-assed products" you sir, are sorely mistaken.
  • Oh... to die at the tender age of seventeen :(
  • Activision owns them -> they don't make CoD -> Activision closes them Shit Kotick, you can milk the franchise but please don't fuck other series up!
  • blood stone was good, just not many people have played it =/
  • I hated Geometry Wars. Am I really the only person in the world who didn't like that game? It's a shame that people lost their jobs, obviously, but at least we won't see GW3.
  • I can't believe this has actually happened. MSR and the PGR series are some of the greatest racing games I have had the pleasure to play. Blur is also a very fun game online. It's as if this talent has just been thrown away.
  • I became an immediate fan after playing PGR2 (which became my favourite game last gen) and PGR4 is still the best game i have played this gen. They were much better than any developer Activision has.
  • Im not much of a racing game fan becaouse well im poop at them but PGR4 was the only one i liked. Shame there will be no PGR5.
  • R.I.P Bizarre....you contributed to what we love to do....GAME.
  • Their best game was geo wars!
  • PGR 3 was alright but whats with the max 900gs in that game? the first PGR was my first xbox game. Its never good to see jobs vanish
  • I can see Bungie as their next target to assassinate. Activision: A company that is victorious in sabotaging industries over nothing.
  • We're one step closer to the eventual two battling game developer bullshit that cares about money more than quality. The "are video games art?" argument will die because "is money more important? YES." will win. Le sigh....
  • @84 true that...
  • @#17 - Are you trying to suggest that all companies should stick to one game series because people wanted a sequel to it? That developers should abandon new ideas and creativity and the very grounds of progressing games, to cater to a bunch of whiny fans for one series? That's precisely what kills the industry. As much as we, as fans, want developers to listen to everything we want, they shouldn't always listen to us. We're not always right, and they should not abandon their creativity for appeasing a small group of vocal people. Blur was creative and new. Sure, it was just realistic Mario Kart, and the biggest reason it didn't do well was because they really had no idea who they were marketing it to. They just made it to make it. I commend them for making something they wanted to make, even if it didn't make sense. That's what video games were originally all about. I want more developers to make games that are risky and don't bend to the "let's follow the trend of what's selling currently" or "let's make another sequel to this, because people want that".
  • @87 Well said mate, well said
  • @10 Its a farewell video, not a trailer for a new game. They haven't got anything to be excited about in terms of ending it.
  • Thanx 4 all the wonderful games u made and I enjoyed!!!! Badly missed
  • And thats the dream over.
  • They must of known as they were making 007 it wasn't going to be great, in this economic climate every needs to shift units to keep their publishers happy.
  • PGR was dreadful.
  • I quite enjoyed blur and the club, but I loved Geo wars. In any case people losing their jobs is sad times :(
  • i hope they dont even THINK of f**king with Square Enix, that would make me hunt down and kill the dick responsible. mind you, i dont think square would go for that, they make enough money on their own :) Activision, i dont care what games you make, i enjoy CoD, but i HATE you for the way play market, buying a small company, then closing it down, its wrong. and @84, LMFAO, thats so true though, and @87 very true too.
  • I loves PGR on the original Xbox. Hell it was probably one of he best at that rime due to the ps2 having all the good games. I'm gonna get around to playing the PGR games for 360
  • Really enjoyed playing the PGR series its gonna be missed :(
  • @#4 I never played any of the PGR games so I cannot say much about that. However I could not agree more with he second statement as it is about as truthful as you can be. If the games were in fact great games then the company would still be alive, simple as that! Either way, easy come, easy go!
  • i only played PGR 4 but like alot of other people have said no deserves to lose there jobs x
  • Only game I played from them was blood stone, it wasn't a bad game but it wasn't anything special either. Sucks they lost their jobs though.
  • I LOVED Blur! Sucks they're closing.
  • Microsoft should have bought the studio and used them for Exclusive games.
  • they made crap games anyways.
  • I miss you Bizarre
  • makes me real sad to see this over the last 15 years there games have been among my all time best ever gaming experinces, i played for 1000's of hours on the gotham/pgr's and about 300 hours on blur amazing racing games that are pure racing fun on and offline, i wish they had stayed with MS i think Bizzare would still be with us and would be doing PGR5. i dont know who was responsable for them going over to the darkside but the darkness consumed them in the end :(
  • Both Geo War games are bad ass still.
  • Short life, but good one.
  • shit happens
  • Real shame, though I can see that it's probably a good business decision by Activision. I only have a real fondness for a couple of their games, the others were a bit crappy in my opinion. PGR2 on the original Xbox was fantastic, I have lots of fond memories of playing that on xbox live. I have not played PGR4 but I think that PGR3 was a big step backwards from 2, it just wasn't as fun or interesting I think. And of course, Geometry Wars, which was my favourite game when I first got my xbox, and the sequel was great too.
  • Sad day, hope these guys get jobs elsewhere in this godforsaken economy.
  • I was actually looking into getting Blur, looked fun, but does this mean there won't be any real online support now? Or is it already dead?
  • And Activision closes another company they bought. Oh well. Anyone for Blur multiplayer?
  • The music is so sad!! I'm stuck in a glass case of emotions!
  • R.I.P PGR!!!!
  • The Club was an absolutely fantastic game! i loved it, The PGR series didn't do it for me though.
  • I loved Blur. I don't know how someone couldn't love that game! Its like Need for Speed and Mario Kart had a sweet sexy baby.
  • They should have done away with Bond and the racing crap long ago, and focused solely on making superior twin-stick shooters.
  • Still playing blur now, seriously fun game. Many laffs.
  • i only have have played the PGR3 game from them, hope that some good video game company picks them up before stupid companies like EA grab them and make them do crap games.
  • Clair de Lune made this video beautiful.
  • Blur is the best car game I've ever played. It was a wonderful idea and is the most underrated game of last year.
  • For me, MSR marked a turning point in console driving games that as a fan of the genre blew my pants clear across the room, closely followed by my boxers and finally my socks caught on to what was happening and joined them. I'm an Aussie and had taken a trip to the UK nearly a year before it was released and it was quite a spin to hear the ads ("Diet Tango. You need it because you are weak!") and see the billboards again. In real-world London ads for the for the Dreamcast were everywhere and I was so ready for a new console. Because MSR was so accurate the London tracks bring back obscure memories from the trip like the two phone boxes outside the TGIF that I saw a kid get stuck between while his mum made a call. The boxes were so close together he couldn't even turn his head and he howled but over the traffic and that she was in a box she couldn't hear him. We were sitting in the window of TGIF hurting ourselves with laughter and in tears when the mother finished her call and couldn't get him out right away (I've never claimed to be a good man, just a man). I still have my beloved Dreamcast set up and every now and then fire MSR up and this and a dozen other memories of that truly fantastic trip (I made my son on it. Too much info? It’s relevant.) flood back. The game was delayed as a launch title and when it finally came out my son had not long been born. Between the trip and the game they dovetail my memories of that amazing year. It's not often a game becomes such a part of a defining time in your life that the name alone, no matter my mood, makes me sentimental in a heartbeat. BC you will be missed and knowing that you won't make PGR5 leaves a hole in the racer genre that will never be filled. Excuse the length, I got sentimental.
  • What is the song being used, is it something by Chopin? I will miss the PGR series most of all, I grew quite fond of the arcade racing experience.
  • Nevermind I found it.
  • Well, time for them to regroup, rename, go back to MS and work on the next PGR. chop, chop! ^^
  • The Club wasn't all that bad. It was something to shoot between other mainstream titles and kept me busy, which was all i wanted it for....neat style to make a shooter a sport(if you will). Still interested in Blur but the cheevos seems odd and the price is still too steep. Either way so long Bizarre!
  • This is exactly why I'm not a game developer. I wanted to be a game developer so bad when I first started college, but it seems like a gaming studio is closing their doors EVERY MONTH; there's absolutely no job security working with video games.
  • @ 61 and 75. Companies close all the time while this is nothing new. You do know that Businesses do need to make money especially when games cost millions to develope. I'm surprised you're not down EA's and Ubisoft's throats for closing some of their Studios at the end of 2010. At least Activision gave Bizarre the chance to make 3 games unlike EA gave Pandemic the chance to make a game. @ 68. Its sad that you don't know what you're talking about. @ 84. You do know that you're talking about EA especially when Pandemic only got 1 chance to make a game under them while that was Mercenaries 2. @ 102. MS had the chance to buy Bizarre while nobody wanted to buy them, which made Activision close them instead of selling them.
  • PGR was the best racing series out there. In my opinion.
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