Irrational Games, the studio behind the successful BioShock franchise, is shutting down. Director Ken Levine wrote an explanation on his developer page for the closure.
I am winding down Irrational Games as you know it. I’ll be starting a smaller, more entrepreneurial endeavor at Take-Two. That is going to mean parting ways with all but about fifteen members of the Irrational team. 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.
Mr. Levine went on to say that his first priority was to take care of those that he employed. He also went on to say that in time the new vision will be announced and that it will be a narrative-driven game for the core gamer that is highly replayable.
Although they are closing the studio, Ken and the fifteen other core developers will stay within Take-Two's walls. The publisher seems to foster the ideas that Ken and company have, and why not, the BioShock franchise has generated retail revenues of over a half a billion dollars.
What will become of the BioShock series?
Mr. Levine promised it was going to be left in good hands as other Take-Two studios will create new content within the franchise.
If you have questions for Take-Two you can contact chris.bigelow@2k.com.
