Irrational Studios Closing

On February 18th 2014, Irrational Studios - makers of the BioShock series - suddenly announced that they would be shutting down, with studio head Ken Levine opting to focus on creating smaller games with a team of 15 employees. This decision stirred a lot of controversy as it caused roughly 75 employees to be laid off,  bringing up many issues about labour conditions in the industry.

Levine's full statement can be found on the Irrational Games blog: A Message from Ken Levine

Critical Responses to the Announcement

• Brendan Keogh on The Conversation: Feb. 18, 2014: Games By Humans
• Daniel Joseph on Drop Out. Hang Out. Space Out.: Feb. 18, 2014: Ken Levine isn't looking for a Job
• Leigh Alexander on Gamasutra: Feb. 19, 2014: Irrational Games, Journalism, and Airing Dirty Laundry
• Ian Williams on Ian's Blog: Feb. 19, 2014: The Best Case Scenario with Irrational Games
• Chris Plante on Polygon: Mar. 6, 2014: The final years of Irrational Games, according to those who were there
• Simon Parkin on Eurogamer: Apr. 17, 2014: Rapture leaked: The true story behind the making of BioShock