Ken Levine, the Creative Director of Irrational Games, has announced that he has begun “winding down” operations at the studio “as [we] know it.” Since completing work on the BioShock trilogy, Levine has begun writing the screenplay for a Logan’s Run remake for Warner Bros. He has also thought long and hard about the games he wants to make in the future:
While I’m deeply proud of what we’ve accomplished together, my passion has turned to making a different kind of game than we’ve done before. To meet the challenge ahead, 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.
In time we will announce a new endeavor with a new goal: To make narrative-driven games for the core gamer that are highly replayable. To foster the most direct relationship with our fans possible, we will focus exclusively on content delivered digitally.
So what does this mean for Irrational Games? First, the majority of the studio’s staff will be laid off in the coming weeks. Many will move to different teams within Take-Two’s corporate structure and Irrational will hold a recruiting day for developers interested in catching on with an outside studio. According to Levine, about 15 members of the Irrational team will remain with the studio after the layoffs are complete. As for the BioShock series, Levine has revealed that it is now fully in the hands of Take-Two. What this means for the currently-in-limbo BioShock Vita or the eventual BioShock 4 is unknown as this time.
There’s no timetable on when Levine will announce what he’s up to next. But hopefully it’s sooner rather than later. Levine’s complete letter can be found at Irrational’s homepage.
