Bizarre Creations maestro joins Sumo

Gareth Wilson, the former game design manager at closed Liverpool outfit Bizarre, is said to have quickly found a new job at Sheffield studio Sumo Digital.

When at Bizarre, Wilson worked as a lead designer on both the Project Gotham series and Blur. News site CVG says he will act as chief games designer at Sumo – a studio with a pedigree in racing games.

Sumo, part of the Foundation 9 studio empire, has work on a wealth of racing games including Outrun Online Arcade and F1 2009.

Bizarre Creations closed its doors last week after Activision failed to secure a buyer for the studio.

It was put up for sale in November following disappointing sales of its acclaimed racer, Blur.

Activision Worldwide Studios COO, Coddy Johnson, alleged that a number of studios interested in buying Bizarre had held back so they could instead hire laid off staff.