The sudden shutdown of Bioshock developer Irrational Games shocked the game industry earlier this month, with word that Irrational co-founder Ken Levine was going to close the doors of the seventeen year old studio to pursue something that he's passionate about. Levine announced on the Irrational website that he was going to form a new team consisting of himself and fifteenth others to create “"narrative-driven games for the core gamer."
Polygon has the report on those that were laid off. According to Polygon's source, Irrational Game's closure led to 75 layoffs. The source states that 70 of those employees had been permanent staff and 5 of them were contractors.
In Levine's post, he stated that those affected by the layoffs would receive financial support as well as a recruiting day where other studios could come by and interview former Irrational staff. The Irrational Games representative that spoke with Polygon revealed that the recruiting day that occurred on February 26 was attended by 57 game studios, including Irrational parent company Take-Two.
Irrational's Closure Leaves Fate of BioShock on PS Vita Up in the Air
The 75 former employees that attended the event were met with a wealth of job interviews and opportunities, it seems.
It's still a bit disheartening that Irrational Games, such a prolific studio had to close, but it sounds like the former employees were treated very well during the departure transition.
Here's hoping everyone from the former studio lands on their feet quickly for themselves and their families. A lot of talent will be spread across the game industry, and that seems like a silver lining to me.
