Ken Levin, founder of irrational games, the studio that brought to you memorable titles such as the Bioshock series is closing its doors to open up a new studio that will focus on smaller digital titles.
"Seventeen years is a long time to do any job, even the best one. And working with the incredible team at Irrational Games is indeed the best job I've ever had. While I'm deeply proud of what we've accomplished together, my passion has turned to making a different kind of game than we've done before," Levine outlined. "To meet the challenge ahead, I need to refocus my energy on a smaller team with a flatter structure and a more direct relationship with gamers. In many ways, it will be a return to how we started: a small team making games for the core gaming audience.
"If we're lucky, we'll build something half as memorable as BioShock," he said, closing out the message.
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I think what's more sad about this whole story is that everyone but 15 staff members will lose their jobs. However the studio will provide some relief to the former staff while they are transitioning.
There's no great way to lay people off, and our first concern is to make sure that the people who are leaving have as much support as we can give them during this transition. Besides financial support, the staff will have access to the studio for a period of time to say their goodbyes and put together their portfolios. Other Take-Two studios will be on hand to discuss opportunities within the company, and we'll be hosting a recruiting day where we'll be giving 3rd party studios and publishers a chance to hold interviews with departing Irrational staff.
The Bioshock series isn't necessarily dead per say. The series was handed over to 2k and will continue life in a new studio just like 2K released Bioshock 2 without Irrational Studio's involvement.
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