Ken Levine closing down Irrational Games
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All but 15 staff expected to be laid off as Ken Levine refocuses on "a smaller, more entrepreneurial endeavor at Take-Two."
http://www.irrationalgames.com/
Best of luck to those affected, sure you'll get snapped up by another studio in no time
http://www.irrationalgames.com/
Best of luck to those affected, sure you'll get snapped up by another studio in no time
Replies
Good luck to those who have been let go! hopefully you walk into something awesome
Do we actually know that, is there a source you can site? Irrational is owned by Take Two, it's not always a matter of being profitable but profitable enough to make the shareholders happy.
Best of luck to the Irrational guys. We're still hiring for a ton of positions at id Software.
We are looking for some people (Crytek USA)
http://www.crytek.com/career/offers/overview/austin
If you know anybody who has been affected shoot me a pm and/or apply.
Reading his letter, it's a bit tough to figure out exactly what's going on. It sounds like whatever his new idea is will require a lot of pre-production work and it's possible 2k didn't want to bankroll a bunch of non-core people. This may very well be your standard layoff/restructure just worded in a different way. It's interesting that he's sticking with 2k, though.
Lots of guessing on my part, and no disrespect meant to those affected. Good luck to everyone.
kjpla.konami.com
On another note, while we all know Bioshock Infinite and the subsequent ones were regarded highly critically, did they do all that well sales-wise?
ID Software wasn't Carmack's legacy? He left it behind.
This _really_ sucks.
My guess is Take2 is shutting it down because Infinite cost too much to make, and the current burn rate is too high for their shareholders. Or something. Gah.
Main point is, I am sure everyone now knowing what we know that has happened. Would probably refrain themselves from ever getting involved with Ken Levine ever again for a job.
Best of coming fortune for those neglected at what was irrational.
Yeah, but Carmack and Levine are not the same person.
So true! Good luck to everyone affected.
I am sorry to say but this is a move based on his own goals... He does not care of anyone besides his personal goals...
Displacing families is not cool!
Imagine the scenario of getting laid off and having to find another job in another place you already own your home everything is stable you have stuck your stake in that land since it was seemingly safe and suddenly now the employee of some odd years is forced to find a job across the states... but you decide the best is to just go alone since the cost of uprooting is too painful. Also your kids are doing great at school and have a social community... why uproot that... Nights without seeing your family and kids for a job in another state or country that you did not even want to live in... all do for the whims of a studio head with an idea.... This is self absorbed. I would never trust him again.
Regardless of that good luck to everyone who's now looking for work. As someone who's been looking for a job, I can vouch that there's actually a lot of openings right now. If you can move, having BioShock on your resume will really help!
Welcome to the game industry?
Anyone affected by it, please pm me if you could use a crazybump license for portfolio polishing or whatever.
This is the mentality that stops us from actually improving our work conditions when people just accept it.
'Accepting it' means taking it without doing anything about it.
'Being realistic' means understanding the state our industry is in.
You have to be realistic about conditions before you can try to fix them.
What was development like of Bioshock Infinite?
Did the cost of development over reach what they recuperated back in?
I noticed that there was a six year period between Bioshock and Bioshock Infinite other than working on Infinite what else were they doing?
I guess we'll find out in due time.
I am realistic. I have been in the industry long enough to know this. Still this is not a company not being able to pay people this is one guy saying I want to play with my toys so go away. How else can I take this.
I can understand a company not being able to pay due to funds being exhausted and low sales etc... but this. It is a collective slap in the face to everyone who worked hard on his and others ideas.
I think we're all making assumptions in this thread.
We won't know what really happened unless we get more information.
True, I hope this is not what it seems.
I kind of understand why Lavine wants to take on smaller projects. All of his games take a lot of chances in terms of pushing our definition of what games are, especially from a literary standpoint. Smaller projects mean he can experiment more with less financial risk. It sounds like he wants to do what Double Fine does and push out smaller titles that do unique things.
There had to have been something going on financially that he didn't mention. His name is more than enough to form a new team/company so why would he effectively sink his old one rather than just step down? The heavy integration with Take Two makes me think Irrational was basically bought, but not quite. Luckily it sounds like they're really trying to help those getting laid off instead of pulling them into a meeting and locking the doors behind them.
Best of luck guys!
edit: Just to jump into the discussion about uprooting employees, I think this is exactly the time to change things. Basically someone has to step up and form a new company, find funding, and scoop up some of their old team members. When this happens enough, a hub will form. The industry will still be heavily project based, but at least projects will stay local.
http://www.naughtydog.com/work/
Even if the position is not open apply sometimes positions pop up.
Good luck to all!
If I had a company, I'd put my employees first. At times, that would indeed mean keeping people employed for the sake of employing them. It's not the company's fault that Ken is still trying to find himself. He's not the only person capable of being passionate in the building. Given the chance, they surely could have stepped up to the plate.
Irrational Games = Rapture/Columbia
Life imitates art....
Best of luck to those affected.
Sorry to anyone affected. We're hiring all positions small start up in McKinney, TX very near Dallas. Full medical benefits. Oculus Rift and others projects.
Bungie is hiring for a number of positions:
http://www.bungie.net/en-US/AboutUs/index#!page=careers
That was my guess as well when I heard about it. Perhaps he realized it's just not feasible to make a AAA title for the PS4-Xbone for a medium sized studio and deciced their time was due. It's just speculation ofc - I still think it's a bit of a dick move. But then again, I don't know Kevin Levine's angle on it either.
Anyway, Ubisoft Massive is always looking for talented folks if anyone feels like relocating..
Sorry to see you go Irrational Games, you've always been one of my favorite developers - ever since Systemshock2 and Tribes vengeance.
GG
RIP Irrational. You guys brought us some amazing experiences!
Like Ryan, I would also like to offer Lazy Nezumi Pro licenses to those affected. PM me if interested.
truth is whatever how good you are as long as you are not the big dude sitting in the high chair, you are always driven by such as a sheep (in a horde).
it happens everywhere in every profession.