Ken Levine, celebrated video game designer and studio co-founder is looking towards the future. His renewed focus is “to make narrative-driven games for the core gamer that are highly replayable” and delivered digitally. This means a severe restructure for Irrational Games and the mass loss of jobs.
“I am winding down Irrational Games as you know it. I’ll be starting a smaller, more entrepreneurial endeavour at Take-Two. That is going to mean parting ways with all but fifteen members of the Irrational team.”
Staff affected by the lay off will receive financial support and have studio access to put together a portfolio of their work. Irrational Games will host a recruiting day for 3rd party studios and publishers to interview dismissed employees. Polygon.com puts the number of jobs at risk at close to 100.
The BioShock universe is also being surrendered and won’t be part of Levine’s future plans.
“I’m handing the reins of our creation, the BioShock universe, to 2K so our new venture can focus entirely on replayable narrative. If we’re lucky, we’ll build something half as memorable as BioShock.”
Despite strong sales and critical adulation for BioShock Infinite, Levine’s unexpected announcement has shocked and confused, like one of his signature plot twists. This is the end for Irrational Games, a creative company that delivered iconic and challenging games.
Source: Irrational Games