Lucid Games

History

Background

Lucid Games was founded by Mark Craig, Andy Davidson, Chris Davie, Nick Davies, Craig Howard, Jeff Lewis, Paul Morrissey, Pete O'Brien, Pete Wallace, and Chad Wright. Most of them had previously been employed at the developer Bizarre Creations in various capacities, including Wallace as development manager and O'Brien as senior producer. Following the poor commercial performance of its game Blur, Bizarre Creations' parent company, Activision, had sought to sell the studio but was unsuccessful in finding a buyer, consequently announcing in January 2011 that it would shut down the studio. According to Wallace, Bizarre Creations' staff had been aware of impending layoffs but had not expected the studio to be closed. Bizarre Creations was disestablished on 18 February 2011, leaving 200 people unemployed.

Founding

Lucid Games was subsequently formed in Liverpool on 21 February 2011. Wallace and Davidson became the new company's managing director and commercial director, respectively. The establishment was supported by Liverpool Vision, a local economic development company that sought to keep Bizarre Creations' talent in the Liverpool area. Wallace stated that he intended for Lucid Games to "get back to the levels of innovation and creativity at Bizarre [Creations] that made Activision so keen to acquire it" and hoped to employ up to fifty former Bizarre Creations staff. Within its first year, the company grew from eight employees to twenty-eight and moved from a temporary office to a permanent one in the Liverpool city centre.

Lucid Games hired Brian Woodhouse, Bizarre Creations' former studio director, as head business development in July 2016. By 2019, the company had grown past 100 employees. In October 2020, Lucid Games and its separately held publishing arm, Lucid Publishing, were organised as subsidiaries of Lucid Group Entertainment. In July 2023, the Tencent subsidiary Lightspeed Studios acquired Lucid Games.

Games developed

References

References

1. (21 December 2021). "Lucid Entertainment Group Limited – Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2021". Lucid Entertainment Group.
2. Yin-Poole, Wesley. (25 February 2011). "Ex-Bizarre devs form Lucid Games".
3. West, Josh. (2 February 2021). "Before Destruction AllStars, Lucid Games wanted to resurrect an old PlayStation franchise".
4. Bradford, Matt. (26 February 2011). "Ex-Bizarre Creations staffers form new UK studio, Lucid Games".
5. Romano, Sal. (13 July 2023). "Tencent subsidiary LightSpeed Studios acquires Lucid Games".
6. (20 September 2019). "Meet the best places to work in the UK video games industry – Best Mid-sized Companies".
7. Martin, Matt. (25 February 2011). "Former Bizarre Creations staff form Lucid Games".
8. Riaz, Adnan. (25 July 2016). "Brian Woodhouse Becomes Lucid Games' Head of Business Development".
9. (2016). "We're Going on a Bear Hunt". Lucid Games.
10. (21 February 2012). "Happy Birthday Lucid". Lucid Games.
11. (7 January 2013). "About us". Lucid Games.
12. (2015). "Goat Simulator". Lucid Games.
13. (2015). "Happy Happy Donuts". Lucid Games.
14. (2014). "iFruit for PlayStation®Vita". Lucid Games.
15. (2014). "PlayStation Vita Pets: Puppy Parlour". Lucid Games.
16. Wallace, Chris. (23 June 2021). "DEVELOP/JOBS: Lucid Games – "One of the stand-out things about Lucid for me is how I instantly felt part of the team."".
17. Slater, Harry. (5 September 2013). "2K Drive leaves Apple's approvals pit lane and accelerates onto the App Store".
18. Brown, Mark. (16 May 2013). "New releases round-up: Jacob Jones, Frozen Synapse, Fast & Furious 6, and more".
19. Hearn, Rob. (8 August 2014). "The best iPhone and iPad games this week – Time Tangle – Adventure Time, and more".
20. Tach, Dave. (28 November 2012). "Harvest insects and send them to Vitas around the world with Travel Bug".
21. Gilbert, Fraser. (18 January 2023). "The Dev Behind This PS5 Exclusive Is Now Working On Sea Of Thieves".
22. O'Connor, Alice. (14 November 2014). "Polygonal Pew Pew – Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions".
23. O'Connor, Alice. (25 February 2011). "Bizarre veterans form Lucid Games".
24. Cook, Dave. (14 May 2013). "Jacob Jones and the Bigfoot Mystery hits PS Vita, iOS this week".