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.[2][1] 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.[3][4] 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.[4][5] According to Wallace, Bizarre Creations' staff had been aware of impending layoffs but had not expected the studio to be closed.[5] Bizarre Creations was disestablished on 18 February 2011, leaving 200 people unemployed.[6]
Founding
Lucid Games was subsequently formed in Liverpool on 21 February 2011.[7] Wallace and Davidson became the new company's managing director and commercial director, respectively.[5] The establishment was supported by Liverpool Vision, a local economic development company that sought to keep Bizarre Creations' talent in the Liverpool area.[3] 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.[5][6] 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.[7]
Lucid Games hired Brian Woodhouse, Bizarre Creations' former studio director, as head business development in July 2016.[8] By 2019, the company had grown past 100 employees.[9][1] In October 2020, Lucid Games and its separately held publishing arm, Lucid Publishing, were organised as subsidiaries of Lucid Group Entertainment.[10] In July 2023, the Tencent subsidiary Lightspeed Studios acquired Lucid Games.[11]
