Irrational Games, the developer of the first-person shooting game BioShock, announced Tuesday that it is shutting down to start afresh with Take-Two Interactive.
The announcement made by co-founder Ken Levine came roughly a month before it releases the second half of the BioShock Infinite "Burial At Sea" DLC, CNET reported.
He said that though he feels very accomplished with Irrational Games, his passion is drifting back to the usual games he’s done before. However, in order for him to go back he will need to refocus on a smaller team and on building a connection with its gamers.
Though his initial plan was to put up a traditional startup that will aim to create a narrative-driven game that is highly replayable for core gamers, Take-Two, after hearing his concept, convinced Levine that “there was no better place to pursue this new chapter than within their walls.”
After the release of the final game series on March 25, Levine can already focus with his new goal and will start trimming down the number of its employees to 15. The employees who will be laid off will be well-compensated and be given support they will need during the 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," he stated in a blog post.
Though Irrational Games is bound to close soon, he made sure that the series he started is in good hands. He handed BioShock over to 2K, his company's parent company, to continue developing the game even without him. Just like what they did in 2010, when they created and launched the BioShock series without Levine.
