Ex-Bizarre Creations staffers have spoken out on the state of the studio prior to closure, pointing to its independent culture that was slowly sapped away under Activision’s reign.

“We weren’t an independent studio making ‘our’ games anymore – we were making games to fill slots,” former Bizarre creative director Martyn Chudley told Edge. “Although we did all believe in them, they were more the products of committees and analysts. The culture we’d worked on for so long gradually eroded just enough so that it wasn’t ‘ours’ anymore.”

Former design manager Gareth Wilson says it wasn’t entirely the fault of Activision, “just the reality of managing so many people.”

Further, Chudley notes that Activision did offer several options – including a buyback proposition, similar in the way Bungie split away from Microsoft. Despite this, the studio passed on the offer, with Martyn’s wife conceding that “we just didn’t have the skills, capability or finances to look after over 200 people. Martyn and I were always small-company people, which is why we stepped aside when we realised it needed big-company skills to manage.”

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