Today BioShock developer Irrational Games is being cut down to a team of 15, the Co-Founder Ken Levine revealed in an update on the studio’s website. When to think that the developer was sitting strong at 200 employees fewer than two years ago for Bioshock Infinite.
“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,” Levine wrote. “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.”
Levine says on the website that current staff will “have access to the studio for a period of time to say their goodbyes and put together their portfolios,” and that other Take-Two studios will be available to “discuss opportunities within the company.” Third-party developers and publishers will be able to participate in a “recruiting day” hosted by Irrational Games, offering outgoing employees interviews for other positions.
Irrational’s goal moving forward is “to make narrative-driven games for the core gamer that are highly replayable.” Additionally, Levine says the developer will move into the digital space exclusively to “foster the most direct relationship with our fans possible.”
