14 Sep, 2011
Barely a fortnight after the launch of the mediocre Bodycount, Codemasters have instructed the Guilford studio to close down. The studio, containing 66 personnel, has been dogged with bad luck, in particular the departures of both the executive producer of Bodycount, Stuart Black, and the studio’s general manager, Adrian Bolton.
This move comes in the wake of a decision to focus more on their successful excursions into motorsport, with the developer’s long list of achievements including F1 2010, DiRT and GRiD. Codemasters Birmingham, creators of F1 2010, are looking to develop a new racing IP alongside a brand new team, in addition to the continued development of F1 Online, a free-to-play online management simulator.
It’s understood the employees of Guilford are being encouraged to apply for positions within Codemasters, as well as help form the new team starting work on the new racing IP.
We’ll keep you posted.
Judging by the early impressions of Bodycount, this is not surprising. The project seemed doomed from the point that Stuart Black left. Sad to see people lose jobs, but I think they could probably tell this title might be their last.