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Irrational Games 'Winding Down,' All But 15 Staff Members Leaving
Last year was a big one for Irrational Games, thanks to the release of BioShock Infinite. As the studio prepares to release the final DLC for that game, Burial at Sea - Part Two, another story will come to an end. Irrational Games as we know it will cease to exist.
“I am winding down Irrational Games as you know it,” studio head Ken Levine writes. “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.”
Irrational says the staff who are leaving will have financial support, some time to access the studio and prepare their portfolios, and the chance to interview with other Take-Two studios. A recruiting day is planned so outside developers and publishers can interview staff.
Levine’s new team will stay with Take-Two. Its focus will be narrative-driven and repayable games exclusively designed for digital delivery.
[Source: Irrational Games]
Our Take
As a fan of the worlds that Irrational Games has created, this is a painful story to write. I’ve deeply enjoyed the BioShock franchise, and while this might be the end for now, I am looking forward to what Levine and his team do next. I am also pleased to see that Take-Two is taking care of the departing employees as best it can. It’s ethical, fair, and should be something we see more often when changes like this happen.
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