Irrational Games, the studio behind Bioshock and Bioshock Infinite, is shutting down, according to a note posted by Irrational head Ken Levine on the studio’s official site. The final Bioshock Infinite DLC (which will be released shortly) will be the studio’s last project.
If you loved Bioshock and Infinite the way that we did, you may be wondering what’s next, but it sounds like we won’t be seeing a new game from Ken Levine for at least a few years. According to the note, all but 15 of Irrational’s employees will be moving on to other projects while Levine and a few other former Irrational staffers start a new company (still under the 2K flag) that will be more “entrepreneurial” and will look to “make narrative-driven games for the core gamer that are highly replayable.” From the note:
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 BioShock in the first place.
So that’s bad news for Bioshock fans, and for fans of Ken Levine games in general. Whatever else happens, it sounds like it may be quite a while before another game of his is released, and any future Bioshock games that 2K decides to release will have to be made without him or the rest of the Irrational team that originated them.
Stay updated on the go with our mobile app.
Get latest insights with smoother, more personalized experience through TIA mobile app.
