Bizarre: Blur will reinvent racers

Developer Bizarre Creations expects Blur to revitalise the struggling racing genre, the firm has told MCV.

The new IP mixes arcade gameplay, vehicle combat and real world cars in a bid to be more accessible to new players. And the studio’s claim follows similar assertions from Activision Publishing’s CEO Mike Griffith, who told MCV that the game will ‘do for racing what Call of Duty did for shooters’.

Why has the FPS genre and the MMO market had these massive massive games, and why hasn’t racing?” asked Bizarre’s head of studio communications Ben Ward.

It is very frustrating. Many of the racing games out there are for the simulation market, which is really inaccessible for those that haven’t played a racing game for a long time. Hopefully by addressing this we can see more people play Blur, appreciate it, and we can push it forward.

"This is the start of something new.”

Blur isn’t the only new racing IP designed to re-boot the racing scene. Codemasters has an extensive range of new titles on the horizon, while Black Rock and Disney’s Split Second is due early next year.

All these exciting new racers coming out is a great thing,” insisted Ward. Competition makes for better games. It is a reinforcement that we’re doing the right thing in trying to reinvent the racer, with everyone else seemingly trying to do the same thing.

"Our business people may not agree, but it is definitely a positive thing.

We really believe in the underlying concept of Blur. If this is not the racing genre’s comeback, then it will at least be the point where it does something different.”