Blur and Blood Stone Developer May Be Sold by Activision

Bizarre Creations, the studio behind recent titles like Blur or James Bond Blood Stone 007, may be sold by its owner, Activision, after its titles failed to meet sales expectations and didn't generate the hype expected.

UK-based Bizarre Creations made a name for itself after creating the blockbuster Project Gotham Racing series for Microsoft.

Back in 2007, it was acquired by Activision after just launching the successful Project Gotham Racing 4.

After extended development times, the studio launched two games this year, racing title Blur and the more recent Blood Stone 007 third person shooter.

Both of those games didn't exactly meet the sales expectations of Activision, so the company has now announced that it is "exploring its options" in regards to the studio, and might even sell the company altogether.

"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."

Blur was set to offer a more mature experience like the one found in Mario Kart, as players raced real life cars and fired different powers against each other to defeat enemies and win the race.

Blood Stone 007, on the other hand, was a sequel for Treyarch's Quantum of Solace James Bond game and, like you've seen in our review, didn't exactly impress, not even in the racing sections, where Bizarre should have proven its expertise.

Right now, it seems that the future of Bizarre is a bit murky, but perhaps it will keep on developing titles in the future, under Activision's ownership or perhaps with another publisher.