BioShock creator Irrational Games is shutting down

there doesn't seem to be much job security in the gaming industry, studios are always firing staff if a game doesn't sell well, or going broke, or like this time downsizing to form more niche studious regardless of how well previous games sold

<< LINK REMOVED >> Sony had to get permission from Irrational to give the game free to begin with knucklehead

<< LINK REMOVED >> Nothing in life is free, I'm sure they paid millions up front, so that they CAN offer it to us for free. No company is willing to make another company lose money, when they could have made millions. Besides, if that was the case, every studio that we got from free games from, would have gone under as well. It would've been even stupider, if it continued to offer free games, while studios closed left & right, because of Ps+. You don't seriously think any company would be that stupid?! He said why in the article:

"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."

It's all right there in black & white.

<< LINK REMOVED >> those free games end up generating a ton of DLC sales mainly due to the fact new gamers are handed something for free.

Cant say I'm too surprised by this, there was a lot of negativity surrounding bioshock infinite after release and he probably read much of that and realized that he had let a lot of his fans down. Not everybody is in this for the money you know, some people take great pride in making great games, its like a piece of art to them and perhaps he felt that bioshock infinite wasnt what it could have/should have been... now wants to redeem himself with a smaller more focused team... where he has more control over things.

it's a bit illogical to shut down such amazing studio like Irrational just to built a smaller studio but well, best of luck for anyone involved. 2K is a great developer, i believe they can continue the Bioshock series just as amazing as Irrational (maybe they should give it to Rockstar).

That was anti-timely, just finished Bioshock Infinite today (loved it). Then right after I read this (elsewhere). Can only hope they keep going in another universe.

I'm quite (ahem) bioshocked by this news.

"make narrative-driven games for the core gamer that are highly replayable."

Good luck pulling that off :). I mean it can certainly be done, but with AAA games needing to have voice acting and really good cutscenes and cinematic sequences etc. etc. it will be difficult. They would have to do something they don't like to do, hand over a lot of control to the player, and also create loads of content for branching and such. I have hard time believing they can really do that.

so are they like shutting down for good?

Thank goodness. No more pretentious Bioshock crap anymore, whoever takes it up I hope they do better. Infinite was an average shooter with a good beginning, that devolved into hunt for coins and shooting. Ending was stupid and not anywhere near good or interesting if you've read a few non-academic non-fiction science books or watched sci-fi shows like Fringe.

Games like Witcher show me the story in games can be good without sacrificing gameplay, but other games need to focus on being fun and/or engaging as ultimately interactivity is the only thing that is important. As people say Game of Thrones tv shows aren't as good as the books, I'll go on record saying most game stories suck and I'm okay with that, but just don't front about it.

So, not only does he make an incredibly disappointing game, but he abandons the studio to satisfy his own needs.

Bravo Levine, bravo.

The original game was a masterpiece. It would be near impossible to make another one like it. It may be for the best to make a new IP for 2K but did you really have to gut almost the entire team?

Ken Levine just told "the man" to go **** himself.

Is this the end of the Bioshock series?

At least Irrational Games is helping out those who are being laid off with financial assistance and a recruiting day. There's a lot of companies out there who do nothing for their former employees after laying them off.

Anytime someone losses their job, you're going to have to fight to find something else. Now add in 174 more people in the fray and it could get very ugly. While I understand the desire to go in a new direction, this is the sort of thing that would make me always want to develop on my own and find something more stable.

I know gamers don't typically care if it means they get better games. Though at this point, I hope those that are unemployed can find a great job.

Why didn't HE leave and let someone else run Irrational Games? Now many people are out of work, many talented people I might add.

Selfish, selfish decision on Levine's and 2K's part.

Ken Levine seems like a great guy.

Eep. Best of luck to everyone involved, both to Levine's new endeavor as well as those looking for employment.

On one hand it seems like an awful thing to do, but I presume Levine is taking all the top talent with him, so that wouldn't bold very well for the remaining team. Hopefully they can quickly find other positions at T2 and elsewhere.

With moderate success of some indie games, it certainly shows that small teams can be successful and produce some amazing content. They can also take much bigger risks with design and other elements that you can't really do in a AAA game studio with millions and millions in development fees. So I'm interested in seeing what becomes of this, it's just too bad that people will lose their jobs because of it.

I actually think this is exciting. He has the support of 2K to work on new IP. Isn’t that what gamers want? It sucks for the employees laid off, but such is life.

Wow, that is a lot of lives that he is affecting just so he can have a change in his life. Couldn't he just leave the studio and start a new indie house instead? I am pretty sure there are probably talents in the studio with experience working with him that can take over Irrational Games and still make excellent games. It sucks for those people that worked hard to help him accomplish 2 great games and now face sudden change and uncertainty. Is not like Bioshock games were unsuccessful that didn't make any money for the studio...

While I'm glad that he's building a new company of his own and all, was it really necessary to completely demolish what you already built? Would it be more humane to just split the company into two, unless you're so arrogant enough to think that whatever you built would completely collapse without you.

So basically Ken Levine chose his perfect 15 then screwed over the other 175 who are now jobless...yeah that's just great isn't it.

Very sad by this news, I really enjoyed all of the games they have released.

Aww... another "little" company having its stuff taken over by a "bigger" one. At this rate, we'll be down to just two or three companies that make video games. Then where will we be?

I wonder how well BioShock will continue from here. I quite enjoyed that series and its ability to mess with your mind.