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Posted February 19, 2014 by Alvin Minon in Gaming
 
 

Bioshock Studio shutting down

Irrational Games, the studio that brought us the hit series Bioshock has officially announced that it’ll be shutting down sooner than everyone expected. It’s been seventeen years since the studio’s foundation and Bioshock creator Ken Levine announced that he will be moving on to another endeavor.

Levine’s message, available at Irrational Games website says,

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.

While this also means that most staffers would be out of job, Irrational Games assures it’s employees that the studio will be offering financial support and even meet with Take-Two to discuss employment. There will also be a recruiting day for the employees to meet third-party studios and publishers.

With the future of the series to be handled by Take-Two, 2k Marin will be in charge of  the development duties for Bioshock, Bioshock 2 and Bioshock: Infinite.

Thanks to Irrational and 2K’s passion in developing the games, and the fans who believe in it, BioShock 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, theBioShock 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 BioShock.

The studio’s last project would be Bioshock’s last DLC, Burial at Sea which will be available to players next month. The first arrived in November and the last DLC is expected to debut on March 25, while it is still unclear what’s next for Playstation Vita’s Bioshock. Together with the other Burial at Sea episodes, the Clash in the Clouds add-on and other exclusives, BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea – Episode Two can be purchased as part of the BioShock Infinite Season Pass.


Alvin Minon