Yesterday, some unfortunate news came from Ken Levine, the head of Irrational Games, explaining the studio would be shutting down and shifting his focus on new projects.
The studio, as we know it, will cease to exist and all, but 15 of its employees will be laid off. However, that doesn’t mean these employees will dropped with no help. Each employee will be receiving some financial aid and even an opportunity to work in other studios under Irrational Games parent company, Take-Two.
As for Levine and the remaining 15 employees they intend on starting a smaller company to focus on some new projects, while, presumably, under a new name. The focus will be much the same as their current games like Bioshock Infinte. Narrative-driven and a focus on making each game replayable. These games will also be only released in digital download form. I’m looking forward to what Levine and the team will be bringing to the table.
While this all incredibly disappointing, I’m happy to see Levine will still be involved in making games. In light of some of the heavy lay-offs that have been happening in the industry, I’m also happy to see its laid-off employees will be well taken care instead having to struggle with finding a new job in an already rough job market.
Here’s to hoping for the best for everyone at Irrational Games involved in this unfortunate/bittersweet situation.
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