The encyclopedia · Strategy & Leadership · Strategic decision · 1990–2013
Blitz Games, a UK studio behind SpongeBob and Bratz titles, collapsed in 2013
Blitz Games was one of the UK's longest-running game developers for 23 years, but closed in 2013 after THQ's bankruptcy left it without its biggest client.
Blitz Games Studios Limited · 2013-09
What happened
Blitz Games Studios was founded in 1990 by twin brothers Andrew and Philip Oliver in Leamington Spa, England. Originally named Dizzy Enterprises after their popular Dizzy game series, then Interactive Studios, it became Blitz Games in 2000. The studio grew to become one of the UK's largest independent developers, employing over 230 people across multiple divisions.
Blitz specialised in licensed family games for major publishers, creating titles for SpongeBob SquarePants, Bratz, The Fairly OddParents, and The Biggest Loser. It also ran Volatile Games for mature titles, Blitz Arcade for downloadable games, and TruSim for serious games. In 2007 Blitz won the Cannes Titanium Grand Prix for its Burger King Xbox games.
The studio's business model depended heavily on a small number of major publishing clients. When THQ filed for bankruptcy in 2012, Blitz lost its most important partner. Unable to secure new publishing deals or sufficient funding, Blitz announced its closure on 12 September 2013. The company owed £2.2 million to staff and creditors. The Oliver twins immediately formed Radiant Worlds, rehiring about 50 former staff.
Why it happened
- Blitz relied on a handful of major publishers for its licensed-game pipeline — when THQ collapsed, the studio lost its single biggest source of revenue with no replacement lined up.
- The licensed-game business model paid well but gave Blitz no control over its own IP — it could not pivot to its own games when the publisher deals dried up.
- The studio carried high overhead across four divisions (core, mature, arcade, serious games), creating a cost base that required continuous revenue to sustain.
- The UK games industry was contracting in the early 2010s as console cycles shifted to mobile — Blitz had not transitioned its expertise to the new platforms.
The lesson
A contract developer that builds its business around one or two big clients owns nothing — no IP, no products, no revenue of its own. When those clients fail, the studio has nothing to fall back on.
Sources
- Wikipedia — Blitz Games
- Eurogamer — UK studio Blitz Games closes down
- GamesIndustry.biz — UK studio Blitz Games to close after 23 years
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