Irrational Games, the studio behind last year's hit title BioShock Infinite, will be closing its doors as studio head Ken Levine has decided to refocus his efforts and develop games in a different capacity.
As such, all but a few members from the core team at Irrational will be sticking around with Levine in his new endeavor at Take-Two. The tragic side effect is that a whole lot of people are losing their jobs. Here's an excerpt from Levine's announcement of Irrational's closure:
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. 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.
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.
Our thoughts go out to all those affected by this change in direction. Here's to hoping Levine's new team brings forth amazing content that merits the studio's closure.
