blur posts

As expected, President's Day was a bit on the slow side for PC game news. But we think the rest of the week is going to be very busy indeed.

• The lead designer of Blur at the now shut down Bizarre Creations has a new job at Sumo Digital.
• Eurogamer buys US based business-themed web site IndustryGamers.com.
• Starting on Friday, Left 4 Dead 2 will repeat the game's original Mutantions every week.
• Fox News's web site writes yet another slated Bulletstorm story, but Rock Paper Shotgun slams it back.
• A bus simulator game. Really.
• There's a possible new Mass Effect 2 DLC in the works.
• An iPhone/iPad and Android version of Minecraft? It's coming too.
• Speaking of which, it's the latest mash-up: Minecraft meets Dead Island trailer.

Today is officially the last day of operations for UK-based developer Bizarre Creations, according to the Develop web site. The developer of such PC games as The Club, Blur and James Bond 007 Blood Stone got notice from its owner Activision that it would be either sold or shut down back in November. Earlier this year Activision announced that it could not find a buyer for the developer which meant that over 200 people are now looking for new jobs.

A now former member of Bizarre Creations has created a video showcasing the developer's games but in a very touching and sad way. You can check out the trailer after the jump:

[Via VG247.com]

The UK-based game developer Bizarre Creations seems to have run out of options and time. After its owner Activision revealed last November it was considering selling or shutting down the studio, Develop reports that the publisher has now recommended that the studio be closed.

According to the report, Activision said it had " a lot of leads but no interested parties" who wanted to purchase the studio which was formed in 1994. Activision bought the studio in 2007 and in 2010 it finally released its first games for the publisher; the racing title Blur and the movie-based action game James Bond 007 Blood Stone. Neither game sold well, however. The shut down of Bizarre, barring a last minute sale, means that about 200 people will lose their jobs.

Are you ready for the airing of grievances? Before you have your Festivus celebration with the silver pole and the feats of strength, check out the latest one day sales deals over at the Steam web site.

Operation Flashpoint Dragon Rising - $3
Dead Rising 2 - $19.99 or $15.99 if you own Resident Evil 5
Alpha Protocol - $7.50
Risen - $14.99
Darksiders - $10
Blur - $14.99
Wings of Prey - $6
Silent Hunter - Save 66 percent of all games in the series
Deathspank -$7.49
Blood Bowl Legendary Edition - $19.99
Patrician IV - $7.50
Mass Effect 1/2 - 50 percent off both games

Steam's Thankgiving weekend sale continues as the PC game download site offers the rest of up game with big price cuts for the next 22 hours. The games include Burnout Paradise for $14.99, Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War II Gold Edition for $13.60, Machinarium for $5, Tropico 3: Gold Edition for $7.50, Torchlight for $5, Empire: Total War for $14.99, ArmA II: Operation Arrowhead for $19.99 and Blur for $14.99.

In addition there is a new indie games bundle with five games (Iron Grip Warlord, Doc Clock: The Toasted Sandwich of Time, Eufloria, VVVVVV, and World of Goo) sold together for just $4.99. Finally there are new gift sets for Freedom Force ($7.49 for 10 copies), Portal ($14.99 for six games), Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War II Chaos Rising ($39.99 for eight games) and Empire Total War ($59.99 for six games).

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving but already folks are starting to buy their holiday gifts (or at the very least thinking about creating their lists really hard). There have been a lot of PC games to choose from in the past 12 months and today Big Download wants to offer a few suggestions for the person who has a PC gamer on his or her list.

The games listed below are what we feel are good gift choices that should please any hardcore or even casual PC gamer that you have to buy for this year. We have even thrown in some indie titles and some games that are priced a bit cheaper than the norm for those of you on a budget. Check out our 2010 holiday list after the jump:

Editor's Note: Steven Wong contributed to this article

On Tuesday it wasn't looking good for the future of UK developer Bizarre Creations. Its owner Activision admitted that it was looking into several options "regarding the future of the studio" behind this year's racing game Blur and the just released action game James Bond 007 Blood Storm. Today Develop reports things are looking up at the developer.

According to what unnamed sources have told the web site Develop that "there's multiple parties interested in buying us." One of those buyers could be Microsoft who had sales success with Bizarre Creations with three entries in the Project Gotham Racing series for Microsoft's Xbox console division.

Bizarre Creations, the UK-based developer which released its latest game, James Bond 007 Blood Stone, just two weeks ago, could be closing down. According to several sources including VG247.com and Giant Bomb the decision was made today by the studio's owner Activision to close the studio. 200 employees are reportedly affected by this decision.

Formed in 1994 the developer worked on games for a variety of publishers, including Sega and Microsoft, before being bought by Activision in 2007. However its first game for Activision, the racing game Blur, did not sell well when it was released last May. Activision is reportedly close to issuing a press release concerning Bizarre Creations' status later today.

[Via Joystiq]

Update: Joystiq has an official comment from Activision on the situation stating, " ... 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." Bizarre Creations is not officially shut down but is under a UK-required 90 day "consultation period" where its employees have been told the studio could be shut down, sold or downsized when that time period is completed.

So who is dressing up this weekend and what will you be dressing up as on Halloween? We can't decide on "Tired PC gamer" or "Tired PC game blog news writer." It's so hard.

• People who still have the PC port of Blur can get double the experience points this weekend in multiplayer.
• New Steam bug updates are now available for Counter-Strike Source, Global Agenda and Left 4 Dead 2.
• Steam has added Winter Voices Prologue: Avalanche to its line-up of games.
• Also, Steam has added the DLC Rhythm Zone:Deep Ocean Visualizer to its library.
• Check out the high-rez artwork for Team Fortress 2's Scream Fortress event.

Developer Bizarre Creations' first game for its current owner Activision was the kart-like racing game Blur. Released last May, the game got solid reviews from game critics but Blur's sales have not exactly been burning up the sales charts. However it sounds like the developer already has plans to continue the franchise.

GamerZines chatted with Bizarre Creations' Nick Davies who stated, " . . it's always been the plan to make the number one racing franchise. That's as much as I can say!." And what about the current game's sales figures? Davies states that part of the problem was that May had two other racing titles come out including Split/Second and the PS3 game ModNation Racers. However he adds, "I think the multiplayer will stay for a long time and I think people will come back to that time and time again, long after some of the other games have gone back to the second-hand shelf."