Shortly after reports began to spread earlier today, the news was confirmed: Radical Entertainment is, for all intents and purposes, being closed down. More specifically, Activision plans a "significant reduction in staff" at the Vancouver-based developer which will result in a small number of employees staying on to support other Activision projects, at least for the time being. The bottom line is Radical is no longer in the business of developing videogames, and that's downright depressing.

Radical was founded in 1991, although much of what it is known for has been released in the past decade: Hulk, The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, The Simpsons: Hit & Run (a personal favorite of mine), Scarface: The World is Yours, and Prototype. As a result of the Activision and Vivendi Games merger, the developer came under the oversight of Activision. This led to significant layoffs in 2008 and the cancellation of two projects; one, a Crash Bandicoot title, a series which the developer had taken control over while owned by Sierra Games, and the other, known as Treadstone, a title based on Robert Ludlum's Bourne franchise.