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. 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. - Ken Levine

Full thing up on http://www.irrationalgames.com/.

Does this surprise anybody else? I thought this company were going strength to strength with bioshock. Is it an "always want them leaving more" approach?

Huh, I wasn't expecting that. Finish Bio Infinite and then shut everything down. Crazy.

EDIT: You should change title, it isn't closing but downsizing to a small team

So I guess they couldnt figure out what to do with Bioshock either after infinite. Bummer.

:o Wow, okay, then.

I hope this doesn't end up involving Ken Levine making iOS games...

In an alternate reality, they are porting Bioshock to Vita. In an alternate reality, they ain't shutting down. In an alternate reality...

@nightriff: If the case is that it's downsizing, then I'm curious what is going to happen to Burial at Sea. I hope it's still going to come out, even if that means it's going to take longer.

Not closing, just rebooting.

Irrational has had a huge influence on my tastes in all mediums so I hope everyone being laid off finds a good home.

@monkeyman04: Pretty sure Ken has said it is just polishing the game up now before release. And I don't think this means "WE ARE A 15 MEMBER TEAM NOW." They will work their way down to that size over the coming months so things like Burial at Sea will get launched ok.

Shitty news. I hope everyone finds new homes quickly and 2k doesn't flog the Bioshock franchise to death.

@nightriff: Alright. That's a good thing on my end. I was worried that that meant that it was gonna be put on hold or canned as a result of this news. But it sucks for those that are gonna loose their jobs.

@nightriff
Kotaku and Destructoid both said "shutting down" too, and that's how I read it. They're shutting down, and starting up as a new team at 2K?

I don't understand why Take-Two doesn't keep the Irrational team together to continue Bioshock development and let Levine build his own, new group to do his projects.

2K isn't messing around anymore. They have been axing development houses that have been missing releases dates, missing goals, and having bloated budgets. They would never dump Levine, so this was his way to stay with the company.

AAA gaming industry is a bloodbath.

Yeah, which convinces me that publisher-finances had something to do with it. I doubt Levine alone was responsible for the developer's cuts.

So I guess I will never get my new Freedom Force game? :(

@lanerobertlane: I've read both so not really sure either. Obviously he isn't making any comments on twitter

Weird. Didn't see that coming.

Go out on top i guess?

Good luck to all the people now looking for jobs. I'm sure they won't be looking for long.

An excellent way to reward a team that just finished a trilogy which has sold like 10 million copies. Hey everybody, you're fired so that Ken Levine can take the boatloads of cash he made off of your work and go do something else. Thanks. Please have your desks cleaned out as soon as possible and we'll try to find some room for you on the team making Max Payne 4.

So I guess a next-gen Bioshock Infinite isn't happening now. Huh.

Thanks for all of the awesome games over the years. Even if your last one proved to be a bit controversial (it was my GOTY, though).

I hope everyone who is affected by this can land on their feet swiftly. And I'll be interested to see what the future holds.

Does that mean that GTA:Online costs so much that they need to restructure things?

Im going to say this is a good thing. Maybe smaller, more focused projects with a smaller team means I won't have to wait 6 years in between Levine headed projects.

@nightriff: Well GameIndustry.Biz is using the term "dissolved" too. I'm guessing these news outlets got a more clear press release than that statement, or have been able to ask questions. Either way it most probably means the end of AAA games from them.

Another studio could do the port. There is no reason it has to be Irrational.

Agreed, great point. I love Bioshock 1 and Infinite and look foreword to what Levine does next, just don't want to wait that long again.

I don't think Bioshock is done at all. Just without Kevin Levine. He wants to do something else and it seems 2k is building the new irrational around it.

@lanerobertlane: But I could also see were they going small, develop the idea of what they want to do next and then build the team back up. I don't think AAA games from them is necessarily done...but probably not any time soon.

You know, I'd love to see Ken's take on Gone Home. Maybe it will even have Steve Gaynor brand dressing in it :P

From Randy Pitchford's comments the other day of maintaining a publisher relationship with Take Two could we see Gearbox merge with 2K and replace irrational ?

Fuck the games industry as a career. How does someone keep coding and working on games when they know they'll have to plan on being unemployed every 3-5 years? If you don't "make it" and end up being one of the 15 people out of 200 worth keeping, you're tossed back into that horrible meat grinder or doomed to trying your hand at the fickle indie market.

that is how many jobs are in general these days. For example all the construction workers mostly working project by project. That is the world we are living in.

Maybe they are going to be working on a Freedom force xcom like game?

Giant Bomb have an article up about this now HERE. It's probably best to keep the conversation in one thread, so I suggest going over there and locking this down.