175 staff have been laid off, though some have already found work at Blitz Games’ successor company.
Blitz Games is one of those outfits you may never have heard of, even though some of its projects – Epic Mickey 2, for one – popped up on your radar at some point. More famous for movie tie-ins, Nickelodeon games and Burger King advergames than AAA titles, Blitz has the distinction of surviving for more than two decades in an industry that regularly devours games studios. Founded by the Oliver Twins of Dizzy fame – if you owned an Amstrad, Spectrum, Atari or Commodore 64 you may have fond memories of the Yolkfolk – this company, only two years ago, was talking growth and evolution. Now it’s gone, and 175 employees are out of work. However two of the company’s titles are self-sustaining, so a small team of 50 from the original company have split off from the parent to continue work on those games, while Rebellion Developments has stepped in to help the remainder as much as it can.
“The run of problems we’ve had to face over the last year is unlike any we’ve seen before,” said Philip Oliver. “Frustrations with clients, the global economic crisis, and more than our fair share of simple bad luck have all conspired against us and we are no longer able to go on trading.” Problems with clients have been Blitz’s biggest recent problem; either the client wouldn’t commit, or would say yes but change to no after Blitz had already put resources on the project. The Olivers did their best to keep the company afloat, even spending their own savings, but all reserves have been exhausted. While Rebellion may end up taking some of Blitz’s people, other potential employers are asked to contact Philip directly at [email protected] for further details.
“We wish the very best of luck to all the staff who are sadly leaving us today and thank them again for their drive, creativity and enthusiasm,” Philip Oliver concludes. Not that long ago, things looked very different, and the Olivers looked forward to another 20 years in the business. “We honestly are masters of our own destiny,” Philip Oliver said at the time. Two years later, destiny mastered Blitz instead.
Source: Blitz Games
