A very apt name, seeing as the game’s speed and unbridled ferociousness could easily create a blurring effect for the mind, but more interestingly, the game would blur the lines between the more cartoony and kid-friendly kart racing games and more realistic racers that had more in common with Need for Speed in its presentation than anything else. Blur was a game that didn’t really set the world on fire when it launched. Despite having a pretty interesting hook and a lot of reasons to play it over other games, it still struggled to maintain a fan base in the way that the game wants you to do within its own mechanics. But why is that? Why would a game being developed from a team that clearly knows what they’re doing in the racing genre that had a lot of interesting ideas that made it stand out from the crowd right off into the distance so fast, never to be heard from again? What the hell happened to Blur?

2010 was a big year for racing games. Need for Speed Hot Pursuit, which is still regarded as one of the franchise’s best games, also came out that year. Along with Gran Turismo 5, Split/Second, and of course Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing. So odds are, even if you never heard of Blur, there would be at least one game out of those 4 that would be a good choice for you as they all ran the gamut of the racing genre pretty well. Hot Pursuit had much of the market cornered at the time with it being the smash it that it was, Split Second had much of the fans of arcade racers that wanted something a little wackier, Sonic Racing was a surprisingly excellent kart racing game, and of course Gran Turismo 5 had the simulation market pretty much all to itself at the time. In this set of circumstances, it’s hard to see where a game like Blur would fit.

This is a tough environment for a game like Blur to thrive in, as it wasn’t really a definite member of any one camp, but rather a hybrid of them all. While the idea behind and the execution of Blur was certainly a compelling package, with a fairly steep learning curve, a Need For Speed look, and kart racing mechanics all rolled up into one game, it ended up being hard to say exactly who Blur was for. If you weren’t a fan of any one of those elements, Blur might not have been a good choice for you at that time, and you would be better off with any of the 4 other major racing games that came out that year. Some games certainly benefit from the “all of the above” mentality, but others can just as easily suffer from trying to please too many audiences at once, or at least the perception of trying to do so, and at that time, to some, Blur easily came off as something that wasn’t quite sure what it wanted to be, despite that not really being an issue ultimately.

On top of all of that, Blur also wasn’t really the spotless and outstanding racing game that many seem to remember it as. Most who were able to get their hands on the game and give it the time it deserved would ultimately enjoy the game for what it was. But with the drifting being as touchy as it was, and the races being packed with the better part of 20 different notoriously aggressive racers who are all constantly shooting each other with bombs, laying mines, and using other weapons, the races would often devolve into an utter chaos that merely surviving could quickly fall out of reach, let alone winning them on a consistent enough basis to advance in the game. Online matches would exaggerate these elements of course. While there is nothing inherently wrong with any of this, it’s easy to see a lot of players passing it up in favor of something else with more refinement.

Mainstream gaming critics weren’t exactly loving it either, with the game raking in a lot of 8s and 7s, which, again, aren’t bad scores, but when put up against the 9s and 10s of its contemporaries, many racing fans would spend their hard-earned money on something else. That said, Blur still had a lot going for it in other areas. The 4-player local split screen was a nice touch and the various battle modes and other peripheral ways to play the game were fun enough, but given that the main experience didn’t really knock any one of its ideas out of the park the way that other racing games were doing at the time spelled a quick death for Blur as well as their developer, Bizarre Creations, which was shut down the following year by Activision. Blur never really offended anyone in any one area enough to warrant such a quick death, but with the stiff competition it was up against and only so many racing fans to go around in 2010, it needed to be more than a good game to survive among so many great ones.

Bizarre Creations believed in their game though and immediately started production on a sequel to Blur after the first one launched. According to Nick Davies of Bizarre Creations, Blur was completely intended to be a franchise that would take on the likes of Need for Speed and other long-standing racing IPs. Supposedly it was the online components of the game that would give it the “slow burn” effect and keep the series alive, but all of this was thrown out the window when the studio was closed and the sequel to Blur was cancelled. No sustainable rumors of a sequel have ever surfaced since. A mobile spin-off game would eventually hit Android devices in the form of Blur: Overdrive in 2013, but as you might expect this wouldn’t generate nearly enough buzz to resuscitate the dormant IP.

Blur really is one of those cases where, had it launched at a different time and perhaps with a slightly different set of ideas, it could have easily gone on to become the franchise that it was so clearly intended to be. On paper the idea for Blur is a really interesting one. It’s got a slick presentation, and overall comes together quite nicely. It’s a pretty good racing game that fans of the genre can easily dump many hours into. But the deadly combination of abnormally stiff competition, a handful of nitpicks holding it back from greatness, and a publisher that had little patience for sluggish sales would ultimately prove to be too much for the game and the studio behind it. All these years later despite the game staying pretty relevant among fans of racing games that don’t mind digging into their library of decade old games every now and then, the game Blur has become just that; a hazy memory that only exists in the fuzzy edges of gaming antiquity. Could we see a revival of the game one day? Anything is possible, but I don’t recommend hanging your hat on this one.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

One of the best games on the Xbox One is Sunset Overdrive, the Insomniac Games developed exclusive action platformer that released last year for the Xbox One to general critical acclaim, but sadly, soft sales at retail. Those poor sales are what make the prospect of a sequel to the game so unlikely- especially since Microsoft seems to generally prefer a strategy of cultivating blockbuster exclusives for its system.

But the idea of a Sunset Overdrive sequel is not entirely off the table, like you would think. While Xbox’s Phil Spencer has confirmed that there is no work being done on the Sunset Overdrive IP currently, he also did state that there is always the possibility of revisiting the brand at some time in the future.

“On Sunset Overdrive, good things can get revisited. We aren’t doing anything right now though,” he said, in response to a fan tweet.

I mean, I guess it’s as close as we are ever going to get right now- it could have been worse, he could have just deflected the answer to Insomniac (who own the IP), in which case it would have been a pretty sure shot sign that there will be no sequel.

Spencer also discussed bringing Project Gotham Racing back via enabling it for Xbox 360 backwards compatibility on the Xbox One. Or rather, more accurately, he discussed why it might be difficult. Apparently, the issue is with licenses, and the difficulty with renewing them for the Xbox One. “Challenge with games that have a lot of licenses is most licenses are done per platform, licenses would have to be redone for X1,” he said.

That is pretty sad- I adored Project Gotham Racing, and while Forza Horizon is a good substitute, there is nothing quite as good as the real thing.

Speaking to IGN, Microsoft Game Studios’ corporate VP Phil Spencer said, “Maybe. The Kudos system we had in PGR was the real secret sauce. That was the thing people really loved. It had a great feel. It was there at launch, which I think was important, for both the original Xbox and Xbox 360.

“It’s funny. I was playing the new Need for Speed on Xbox One the other day. That team and EA are doing an amazing job. The next game looks fantastic in that arcade racer space. Some of the rumours around PGR were probably us working on Forza Horizon with Playground, and people were guessing it was a PGR game.”

Spencer does reveal that the series does come up in conversations with Turn 10 Studios, developer of the Forza series. “We talk. Alan Hartman [Turn 10 studio manager] and I talk about PGR. We’re full in the racing space right now when we think about our franchises. But I know there is a lot of love for that franchise out there, and it would be interesting to think about what we could do. I don’t think we would ever have three console racing franchises. That seems like a lot for a first-party, with Forza Horizon and Forza Motorsport.

“Forza Horizon is not PGR from an arcade style, but it’s not me sitting on a circuit running lap after lap. It’s more of an open world. There’s maybe an opportunity for us to look at some of the stuff that worked in PGR.”

Would you like to see a new Project Gotham Racing one of these years? Let us know below.

Or is it? According to Microsoft’s Phil Spencer on Twitter, there have been talks going on with the developer. It doesn’t mean we’ll be seeing Geometry Wars on the Xbox One any time soon but something is infinitely better than nothing.

@Steverulez I like GW, great game from the old Bizarre Creations. ATVI picked up IP when they bought BC.

— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) September 12, 2013

@Steverulez Oh I'll respond. Let's just say as someone who worked on PGR I have a lot of love for GW. Conversations have been had…

— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) September 12, 2013

Also, given how close Microsoft and Activision have been over years – with DLC content for the Call of Duty series released as timed exclusives for the Xbox 360 and now with the Xbox One with Call of Duty: Ghosts, not to mention the Xbox receiving the best version of each game – it certainly isn’t impossible. Stay tuned for more details.

It turns out that response already happened well in advance with Project Gotham Racing, whose trademark has been renewed by Microsoft this past January. The critically acclaimed racing simulation series has been developed by Bizarre Creations, with the last game on an Xbox console being Project Gotham Racing 4 on the Xbox 360.

Of course, that was more than 5 years ago. Since then, Microsoft has attained more fame and fortune with Turn 10 Studios’ Forza Motorsport series, and the increasing emphasis on Kinect means that we’re seeing less hardcore franchises than before.

Then again, if Forza benefited from the use of Kinect, who’s to say PGR won’t get the same treatment? Let’s see if this means a new game somewhere down the line.

Although he does not confirm that it is indeed Blur 2 but he does states that it is from an ‘announced, unfinished project’. The first video showcases the graphical overhaul of the game along with weather effects. While the second video shows the track set in Dubai . The video also shows off the new engine that Bizarre Creations were working on.

As Chris knew that the studio was going to close down, he continued to work on the Dubai level as he thought it will be “a shame that nobody would get to play a finished track, even the dev team.” He continued to work until “the lights went out for good.”

It is shame that the game never saw release. It really would have been pretty awesome sequel considering how good the original was.  The original Blur was released on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. It was published by Activision.

Here’s hoping that some other publisher shows interest in this franchise. What do you think? Are you interested in a sequel to Blur? Let us know in the comments section below.

Thanks Destructoid.

Need for Speed: Shift developers, ‘Slightly Mad Studios,’ said in an interview with Videogamer that the project they are now working on, Shift 2: Unleashed, has been inspired by elements from games by Bizarre Creations, the recently closed down studio, like Geometry Wars and Project Gotham Racing.

“You know, absolutely unfortunate. Those guys, we’re kind of following in their footsteps with the work they set out on Project Gotham. Absolutely fantastic game,” designer Andy Tudor said.

“I remember playing that ’til midnight and beyond on some nights. And then things like Geometry Wars have inspired modes within our games as well.

“You know, with Autolog, when you look on the HUD, I can see your name on there, which is a constant reminder of your score, your fastest lap – something like that. And that was such a critical thing in Geometry Wars, like playing that game and seeing your name on there – which was frustrating as hell – and just wanting to beat you. Not necessarily wanting to beat my own score, but to beat you. That was really motivating.”

Shift 2: Unleashed will release early next month on the 360, PS3 and PC. Till then, get all the info you want on the game from our recent interview with the devs.

Bizarre Creations, the devs behind Project Gotham, have shut their doors today ending a seventeen year streak in game development. They come to a close with a rather touching video seen above.

The company began in 1994 but have hung in the balance since last november. Activision have since cloased down Bizarre Creations having been unable to find them a buyer. We wish the best for all affected by the closure and will mourn by playing their classic games such as Blur and Geometry Wars.

Farewell Bizarre…it’s been an absolute pleasure! from Eamon Urtone on Vimeo.

Thanks to CVG for the info.

Activision has issued a recommendation to Bizarre Creation to shut down, following their inability to find a buyer for the studio. The studio has accepted the proposal of their parent company to close down. The Liverpool-based studio has made games like Project Gotham Racing and Blur in the past.

Coddy Johnson, Activision Worldwide Studios’ chief operating officer, said that the company had “looked at all options” before recommending to close the group.

“I want to be clear, our first choice was to try and keep this group together and find a buyer for the studio,” he told Develop. “This decision comes after a few months of exhausted examination of a number of different options across the board.”

“We of course care about this team. We’re offering the studio as many resources as possible, including counseling, external placement services and external career fairs,” he added.

This marks the closure of another talented studio. Sad day.

Microsoft seems keen to buy out Bizarre Creations, who once developed the PGR series for them.

According to a report published by Develop, that seems really likely.

A major meeting was held earlier today according to them

“That meeting really lifted the mood here, I think, because we’ve been told that there’s multiple parties interested in buying us,” the anonymous source said.

“We are still on consultation for ninety days,” he added, “but things look much better than they did last night or this morning. Things here are changing at such a quick pace.”

A source close to the website suggested that MS was most interested among the parties:

“Microsoft aren’t stupid,” he said, “they know we’re talented and have spoken to Activision about us.”

It’s a good sign, we hope they do it.