Activision Shuts Down Prototype Developer, Radical Entertainment

Post by Steve Farrelly @ 11:25am 29/06/12 | 9 Comments

In another studio closure, Activision has revealed today that it shut down Vancouver-based Radical Entertainment, developer of the Prototype series.

"Radical is a very talented studio and has been a great partner to Activision," a spokesperson for Acti told Game Informer.

"Although we made a substantial investment in the Prototype IP, it did not find a broad commercial audience. Following an exploration of a wide range of options, it was determined that closing Radical Entertainment as a creative entity was the only option."

From here the studio's future is uncertain, though the report suggests Activision could look at putting Radical up for sale. Some members will also be absorbed into greater Activision, though what for specifically, is not clear.

We took Prototype for a spin here on AusGamers and scored the game 8.3/10.

radical entertainment activision studio closure prototype

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Latest Comments

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skythra
Posted 01:10pm 29/6/12

Which for ausgamers means that the game was average. C- by school standards, a pass, but with significant mistakes and original ideas were far and few between then poorly explained.

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Lithium
Posted 01:46pm 29/6/12

Yes the first was a horrible game. My braindead neighbour enjoyed it, but he also likes Assassins creed so i can't value his game quality opinion.

"Radical is a very talented studio and has been a great partner to Activision,"

Well lets deprive them of all their jobs and destroy any potential good games that they could produce in the future.

Following an exploration of a wide range of options, it was determined that closing Radical Entertainment as a creative entity was the only option."

Lol what a joke. Wide range of options? Make a new game or fire everyone?

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Trauma
Posted 02:01pm 29/6/12

Translation: They were not casual enough so we f***ed them off... while blowing smoke up their ass.

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skythra
Posted 04:06pm 29/6/12

Well lets deprive them of all their jobs and destroy any potential good games that they could produce in the future. >

Their performance didn't make them profitable. You know those deadbeats at your work who do work when they want but it's nothing profitable for the company, and come payrise time they say "Oh we can't afford it due to GFC this year" really what they mean to say is "we've got no way to offload our non-performers under law, so we are cutting into everyones wages to employ the ones who aren't helping".

In a business sense, getting rid of them while praising them gives them the best chance of finding new jobs, while not disadvantaging the company (and those that work in it).

Anyway, welcome to the real world. I got fired when i was 17 because our business had lost it's contact with a partner, so to downsize they kicked me out because i was casual. I didn't take it personally, you can't expect a whole company to go bust because it feels a responsibility to a few.

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mental
Posted 04:13pm 29/6/12

Does that mean prototype 2 is still being released for pc in July?

I enjoyed the first one, wasn't exceptional but was great for a quick blast here and there.

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Dan
Posted 04:45pm 29/6/12

Well they haven't gotten rid of them. Despite the headline here, Radical hasn't been "shut down". All Activision has done so far is say that the studio is no longer going to be working on new IPs.

There's nothing been said about job losses, so my interpretation is that they've just decided the studio is now going to work on platform ports of their other games or churn out titles on the other licenses they hold (007, Marvel, transformers etc).

Realistically, it's not too dissimilar to how they're managing a bunch of their other subsidiary studios. What was the last non-licensed or non-existing franchise that Beenox, Raven, Neversoft or Treyarch worked on? Maybe one of those four will have the chance to try something new soon (or for next-gen), but what Acti seems to be saying here is that Radical wont. They'll be a platform port/licensed titles crew.

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infi
Posted 08:24pm 29/6/12

I had heaps of fun with Prototype. Any game on Manhattan Island is fun for some reason.

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do0b
Posted 09:03pm 29/6/12

I loved prototype, sad day :(

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skythra
Posted 01:27am 30/6/12

I honestly did not enjoy prototype, which seems odd considering the people here suggest that it was a good game. Maybe I'm a bit biased because I believed that the company didn't do a good job in the fundamental part of making a game fun, but perhaps the issue is just that my opinion differs.

No matter.

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