A former developer at Bizarre Creations has explained why Activision closed the studio.

Design manager Gareth Wilson told Eurogamer that selling new IP like Blur to consumers had become increasingly difficult.

"It was a perfect storm of unfortunate circumstances," he said. "The landscape of the industry has changed massively even in the time from when Bizarre was acquired.

"In particular getting a new IP noticed at this stage of the console cycle combined with the global economic situation meaning gamers are less willing to 'take a risk' is really difficult.

"It's not just Blur that didn't sell in 2010, great new IPs like Enslaved, Alan Wake and Vanquish have struggled to make to make an impact while Halo and Call of Duty have broken sales records."

Wilson said that Activision's intentions to close the studio last year gave development staff time to seek alternative employment elsewhere.

"When it was announced that Activision was looking to sell or close the studio the majority of people started looking around, obviously still hoping that a buyer could be found," he said.

"This wasn't clandestine at all. While the situation with the studio was unclear Activision allowed us time off to go for interviews and training."

He added: "Now I can feel more philosophical about it, it was upsetting when it was announced back in November. As there was a three month consultation where a buyer was sought it's been more of a slow realisation over the weeks that followed that the studio was likely to close."

Earlier this week Wilson joined Sheffield-based developer Sumo Digital as chief games designer, the studio responsible for OutRun Online Arcade and Doctor Who: The Adventure Games.

Activision closed Bizarre Creations earlier this month.

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