Black: Codemasters "unable or unwilling" to support vision

Former Codemasters creative director Stuart Black has shone on a light on his reasons for leaving the Guildford studio earlier this year.

"There have been some quite odd and silly rumours," Black said to Gamespot of speculation surrounding his departure from the Bodycount project. "At the end of the day these things are mundane... An agreement was broken."

Describing his decision to leave as "the hardest choice of my career," he claimed that "it was clear that Codemasters were unable, or unwilling, to provide the support needed to realize the vision I had for Bodycount.

"Some of the marketing initiatives and trailers were not, in my opinion, doing justice for the game."

He was, however, full of praise for new employer City Interactive, where he is working in conjunction with a Polish team on a World War II shooter using the latest Crytek engine.

"I was struck by their passion and commitment to gaming and, most importantly, their ability to look honestly at the successes and failings of their titles. "I hope I can help them in raising the bar and be a part of making City Interactive a globally recognised hallmark of quality games."

Black would be remaining in the UK, however. "We're opening a boutique design studio in Guildford to work on this and provide support or guidance to other projects in development."