Irrational Games, the maker of the BioShock franchise, is closing its doors indefinitely. The company's co-founder Ken Levine stated that he is more interested in working on smaller-scale "narrative-driven games," and will head a smaller team of people to do just that.
The company has been around for 17 years and has grown to include many employees. Levine's "smaller, more entrepreneurial endeavor at Take-Two" will require only about 15 employees or so, but Levine is determined to provide for and assist those who will lose their jobs due to this sudden change. Irrational Games' parent company, 2K Games, will take over the BioShock game franchise. Employees who have been laid off are encouraged to apply for a new position within 2K Games.
"I am winding down Irrational Games as you know it," Levine said in a blog post. "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."
"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," Levine added. "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."
Levine acknowledged that although his years with Irrational Games were formative and incredible, he is ready to move on and tackle a different kind of gaming.
"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 said. "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."
Like many small-timers who make it big, Levine wants to recapture some of the inspiration born from limitations and shrug off the responsibilities of a franchise. He wants to build a new game from the ground up that is simple and appealing to users. Levine is concerned with getting back in touch with the people who play the games he helps create. Levine will keep the company going up until the March 25 BioShock Infinite "Burial At Sea" DLC release, but after that, he's off to start work on his new projects.
"If we're lucky, we'll build something half as memorable as BioShock," his post concluded.
