Activision has moved to close down developer Radical Entertainment. Radical, who has been best known for the Prototype franchise of late, is another victim of what is being referred to as the studio’s titles failing to find a broad commercial audience.

Despite Activision making what they call “substantial” investments in the Prototype IP, the two releases in the franchise didn’t really hit it big with gamers despite both titles receiving solid review scores. Activision claims that while they explored a number of options to keep the studio operational (including the sale of the studio), closing Radical was the only remaining option.

While Activision says that some of the Radical staff will remain with Activision to support and work on other projects, the studio as we know it today will no longer be developing new projects under the Radical banner. The studio was rumored to be working on a sequel to its Scarface title, as well as a new Crash Bandicoot title, and a rumored new title that was based on the works of Robert Ludlum (the author of the Bourne Identity). Activision is rumored to have pulled the plug on the development of these titles prior to the decision to close Radical.

While Radical has been best known for the Prototype franchise lately, the studio has had a string of hits on the PlayStation 2 Platform, including the Simpsons: Hit & Run, Scarface: The World is Yours, The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction and other titles since the studio opened in 1991. Activision acquired the developer 2007 after its purchase of Vivendi Games in 2005.

The closure of Radical is just one on the list of studios the publisher has closed. The publisher has continued to close a number of high profile and very successful studios as the company has streamlined operations and cut back on the number of titles that the company has published that were not successful. Bizarre Creations and Luxoflux are two of the studios that come to mind as successful studios that Activision closed.