Irrational Games is becoming smaller

[Maxey]

No this not an April 1 joke going off too soon, this is a real thing that is happening.

https://www.irrationalgames.com/

A Message From Ken Levine

								 										When Jon Chey, Rob Fermier and I founded Irrational Games seventeen years ago, our mission was to make  										visually unique worlds and populate them with singular characters. 										 										We built Rapture and Columbia, the Von Braun and The Rickenbacker, the Freedom Fortress and some of 										the nastiest basements a SWAT team ever set foot into.  We created Booker and Elizabeth, the Big Daddy 										and the Little Sister, MidWives and ManBot. In that time, Irrational has grown larger and more successful 										than we could have conceived when we began our three-person studio in a living room in Cambridge, MA. 										It’s been the defining project of my professional life. 										
									Now Irrational Games is about to roll out the last DLC for [i]BioShock Infinite[/i] and people are understandably 										asking: What’s next? 										
									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. 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.  										
									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. 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.* 										
									[i]What’s next?[/i] 										
									In time we will announce a new endeavor with a new goal: To make narrative-driven games for the core gamer that 										are highly replayable. To foster the most direct relationship with our fans possible, we will focus exclusively 										on content delivered digitally. 										
									When I first contemplated what I wanted to do, it became very clear to me that we were going to need a long period 										of design. Initially, I thought the only way to build this venture was with a classical startup model, a risk I was 										prepared to take. But when I talked to Take-Two about the idea, they convinced me that there was no better place 										to pursue this new chapter than within their walls. After all, they’re the ones who believed in and supported  										[i]BioShock[/i] in the first place. 										
									Thanks to Irrational and 2K’s passion in developing the games, and the fans who believe in it, [i]BioShock[/i] has generated 										retail revenues of over a half billion dollars and secured an iconic place in gaming. I’m handing the reins of our  										creation, the [i]BioShock[/i] 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 [i]BioShock[/i]. 										
									We do our best to update an FAQ in this space as questions come in. 										
									
									-Ken Levine

[Jack_Freeman]

I can see the benefits of being a smaller and more focused team, but I wish Levine would just keep Bioshock to himself and his team, it wont be the same without one of his twist-filled stories.

[pfannkuchen_gesicht]

well I guess the Bioshock series as it is now is done with Infinite and it’s addons.
Too bad, I was already looking forward to another Bioshock but maybe his new game will be like Bioshock in many ways, just not connected to it story-wise.

[yrr]

Well, doesn’t sound that harsh to me… Working with smaller teams, in close contact with the gamers sounds awesome to me ! Less bureaucracy, more room for great and challenging new game concepts ! Embrace the change ! Just asking in case I haven’t figured this correctly from the text: Does that mean he continues his work with irrational games and fires the rest of the people or does he go with his 15+ dudes to TakeTwo and Irrational has a few guys less ?

[Maxey]

I suppose they wanted to try a Valve-style management and the best way to do that was to start small again with just a core team of diverse talent.

As for Bioshock, well, Ken says he wants to make a new type of game and I guess letting off of the Bioshock IP was the best way to completely focus on it.

@yrr

Does that mean he continues his work with irrational games and fires the rest of the people or does he go with his 15+ dudes to TakeTwo and Irrational has a few guys less ?

Ken and the other 15 guys stay at Irrational.

[Aiden_Pearce]

Will be interesting to see what this means for Bioshock.

[Lemonz_amp_amp_orang]

maybe system shock 3??

but this will be a sad day for bioshock fans
if bioshock 2 is any sign, the series will probally not be the same without levine

but i wouldnt mind if they took ideas from deus ex (like better character interaction and short/long term decisions and consequences, rather than random gambles of luck)

[k3nny1550]

My guess is that this is BS. Publisher BS.

Infinite got delayed many times and most likely went severely over-budget. As a result, Take Two might have decided to fold the team. But we’ll probably never know for sure.

[Pyroclase]

@k3nny1550

My guess is that this is BS. Publisher BS.

Infinite got delayed many times and most likely went severely over-budget. As a result, Take Two might have decided to fold the team. But we’ll probably never know for sure.

They’re not entirely folding the team. They’re just shrinking it extremely because they want to pursue other goals. If the publisher was actually upset, they wouldn’t outright lie about the reasons for drastically reducing the team.

[RAMacindux]

Now I don’t know what happens next for the Bioshock series, but I’d trust 2K more than EA getting hold of the franchise…

[Maxey]

@RAMacindux

Now I don’t know what happens next for the Bioshock series, but I’d trust 2K more than EA getting hold of the franchise…

It’s raining outside and I don’t have an umbrella… But hey, at least I’m not on fire!

[gibbelin]

Of course 2K gets the game. They own the IP. Irrational is (was) a wholly-owned subsidiary.

[Pyroclase]

https://www.polygon.com/2014/3/6/5474722/why-did-irrational-close-bioshock-infinite

Early versions of Bioshock Infinite included a co-op mode and a tower defense game.