There’s a video that’s been making waves today featuring Bobby Kotick, the former CEO of Activision Blizzard. Known among gamers as somewhat of a villain, Kotick appeared on a podcast by venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins, where he chatted with Bing Gordon, a former executive at EA. Recalling a rocky acquisition, Kotick struggled with the details: “We actually had a bad acquisition. The company that was, um … in Manchester, that did the driving game for Xbox, and it was called, um …”
You can catch the whole thing at around the 8-minute mark, and honestly, it’s a bit cringeworthy. But hey, when I’m… let me check… 62 years old, I might not remember something from when I was… hold on… 44. That’s pretty much my age now, and honestly, I feel a bit introspective about it. Will this blog post stick in my memory? Who knows. But Bizarre Creations’ masterpiece of a game? Oh, I sure remember that one—and my family still enjoys it to this day.
No, I’m not talking about Blur—though much love to those devoted to it—or “the driving game for Xbox,” which has its own fans with Project Gotham Racing. The game I can’t stop thinking about is Geometry Wars. It wasn’t just any game; it helped forge a new type of console gaming experience on Microsoft’s ambitious Xbox 360, possibly even claiming the title of its best launch game.
Originally stashed inside Project Gotham Racing 2 on the original Xbox, Geometry Wars is a straightforward twin-stick shooter: one stick maneuvers your ship, the other fires. That’s it, simplicity at its finest! During my early days as a video game journalist (shoutout to the old Joystiq days), I covered the lead-up to the Xbox 360’s release in November 2005. Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved—the spruced-up Xbox Live Arcade version—made a significant impression. I remarked, “If [Project Gotham Racing 3] isn’t the highlight of the 360 launch, Bizarre’s other creation surely is!”
In the weeks and months following, my colleagues and I at Joystiq found ourselves both amazed and astounded by the global leaderboards. How did they score that high? The novelty of playing this classic style of game on a high-definition console integrated with the internet hinted at the future of gaming—an exciting glimpse indeed. We covered record-setting runs (kudos to Striker and xTHeDoGgx) and engaged in friendly competition on the leaderboards.
Fast forward to today, and Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved still brings joy to our family on the Steam Deck. Its quick-paced sessions and a dash of father-son rivalry prove how well-crafted the game remains, even after nearly two decades. So, even if the specifics about the studio or its Liverpool roots slip your mind, Geometry Wars is worth remembering. Activision shuttered Bizarre Creations in 2011 after releasing the racing game Blur. Some team members regrouped at Lucid Games, which launched Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions in 2014—the series’ debut on PlayStation.
And if you haven’t had the chance to dive into it, here’s some great news! The original is still available on the Xbox store for the same nostalgia-inducing $4.99 from 2005, or snag it on Steam for a mere $1.99—under the cost of a convenience store coffee! PlayStation fans can grab Geometry Wars 3 for $14.99—about the same as a fancy coffee these days (don’t quote me on that).
I’d love to hear if any of you share my affection for this game. Drop a comment below. See you on the leaderboards. 👀
