In case you haven’t heard the news, Black Rock Studio has closed down. Black Rock created Split Second, a game that is somewhat responsible for the modern trend of environmental destruction in racing games. The public may not have purchased large quantities ofSplit Second when Black Rock was still active, but now they can pay their respects on the cheap.

As Gamertell previously reported, several Black Rock Studio employees lost jobs in a recent round of Disney Interactive layoffs. A team of 30 is still working at Black Rock Studios on a Disney project with no details revealed. The studio’s most recent release was Split Second, a racing game featuring highly destructible environments. Two former Black Rock employees have resurfaced with a new venture, RoundCube Entertainment. Nick Baynes, game director on Split Second, will head the studio while Ian Monaghan will be development director.

Rock Studios, the developer of Split Second, is going through layoffs. Around 40 will be let go as the studio gets down to a single development team, according to Eurogamer. That site’s unnamed source said about half of the studio’s employees haven’t had a project to work on since December 2010. Split Second debuted in May 2010 to favorable reviews but tepid sales.

On its Split/Second Facebook page, developer Black Rock Studios said four packs of downloadable content are coming by the end of September. Three of the packs for the arcade-style racer will include new cars, while the pack scheduled for September will have a whole new play environment.

Three new racing games got lapped by their competition on the May retail track, according to the latest NPD numbers. Sony’s ModNation Racers, Disney Interactive’s Split Second and Activision’s Blur all met with cool receptions, ModNation not making Top 15 while the other two racers didn’t even crack the Top 30.

Hut, hut, hut! That distinctive call is familiar to any football gamer of the 80s and 90s who spent hours racking up the tackles in Tecmo Bowl. The legendary football game returns this week through the Xbox Live Arcade in Tecmo Bowl Throwback. This game is a remake of 1993′s Tecmo Super Bowl that includes the option for high definition play…

The multiplayer demo for Activision’s upcoming racing title Blur is now available on Xbox Live, allowing players to race all the way to a level cap of 15. Yup, that’s a level cap.

It’s no coincidence that along with arcade racing moves perfected by Mario Kart, Blur borrows heavily from the Modern Warfare games, Activision’s reigning cash cow.

Your racer gains fans (basically experience) from your on-track performance that unlock new cars and upgrades. Just as in Modern Warfare games, there are challenges to complete that unlock more goodies. You can even preset a loadout that will determine how you use your power-ups, another convention from the world of first-person shooters.

One of the sleeper titles Gamertell encountered at Consumer Electronics Show 2010 was arcade style racer Split Second. The destructible environments aren’t just part of the course, they alter the course.

Disney Interactive is burning up the Xbox showroom floor with Split Second, a racer that is poised to provide a unique take on a well-represented genre. As with many arcade style racers, Split Second allows you to fill a power meter by racing aggressively. The moves you can unleash though, go a little further than typical racing powerups such as “go really fast” or “make your car do something acrobatic.”