Activision prepares to close Bizarre Creations

US GAMING giant Activision is preparing to close down its Liverpool-based studio Bizarre Creations – just a year after it reported profits of £1.1m.

The decision has put 200 jobs at risk although Activision says it will try and redeploy some workers.

In November the company said it was exploring a number of options for the business, including a sale, because of economic factors affecting the market, but it has been unable to find a buyer.

In a statement the company said: “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.”

Bizarre was acquired by Activision in 2007 for around £40m. It is best known for its work on the Project Gotham series for Microsoft but has since worked on the racing game Blur and a new James Bond game. In the year to December 2009 sales topped £12.6m.

Activision is the developer behind the recent release of fast-selling Call of Duty: Black Ops.