Hirshberg: Shrinking racing genre killed Bizarre Creations

Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg has said that a decrease in interest in the racing genre market was what eventually caused Blur and Project Gotham Racing developer Bizarre Creations to close.

Hirshberg, in an interview with Joystiq, said that the genre "had shrunk, pretty precipitously."

"The thing that Bizarre is best at and what they're known for and what their signature is is in the racing world," he told the site.

"And the decision had as much to do with our assessment of what was happening to the racing genre as it had to do with anything specific to Bizarre. We just didn't think that was the best place for us to put our competitive energies."

After releasing racing game Blur last May - which didn't respond well in terms of sales - Bizarre's final title would be James Bond title Blood Stone in November.

The studio closed down in February.