Grave Gamer News & Views — irrational games

Bioshock 2 Dev Taking Franchise Over from Irrational

When Boston based development house Irrational Games announced they were closing their doors for good, many assumed the franchise they created, Bioshock – a critical darling and fan favorite – would sink into the sea with it.

Irrational’s owner, publisher 2K, assured the gaming populace Bioshock would live on; somehow, some way. Bioshock, after all, makes money, and you don’t just let something that makes money slip to the bottom of the sea (or fall to the top of the sky…?).

Take-Two CEO/Best Name for the Next Bond Villain, Strauss Zelnick, believes the series has yet to reach its commercial potential. Of course, the writing on the dry-erase board says no more than “Make more Bioshock eventually.”

“We haven’t given any color on how you should think about it yet except we do believe it’s beloved,” Zelnick said to Gamespot.  "We think it’s important [and] certainly something that we’re focused on; something 2K Marin will be responsible for shepherding going forward.“

2K Marin, a team forged in 2007 from former members of Irrational, brought us Bioshock 2 – a title that hemmed so closely to the original that it might as well have been called an expansion (to toss some fairness into the mix, the game did have an excellent story; it’s not all choppy waters). Last year, 2K Marin released The Bureau, an XCOM spin-off met with mixed reviews and a wall of indifference from fans used to the strategy-heavy formula the series is known for.

All right, so we’re not exactly passing Bioshock into steady hands. But keep in mind, it took Treyarch a few goes at the Call of Duty formula before they started to wind Infinity Ward’s bi-yearly releases. Thankfully, 2013’s Bioshock Infinite is fresh enough in our minds where there’s no rush to deliver a follow-up. Take your time getting it right, 2K. Kind of a delicate IP you got there.

Irrational Games is Closing Down

This is a helluva head turner, given the Massachusetts-based studio’s recent successes.

The studio responsible for creating the original Bioshock as well as last year’s sensational piece of digital art, Bioshock Infinite, is closing its doors. Ken Levine, the developer’s most prominent figurehead and creative visionary, revealed his reason for shuttering a studio seemingly at the peak of its career:

“Seventeen years is a long time to do any job, even the best one. And working with the incredible team at Irrational Games is indeed the best job I’ve ever had. 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.”

This new, refocused endeavor will only be taking fifteen Irrational employees aboard – the rest, unfortunately are being let go – and, according to Levine, will exclusively publish content digitally.

Founded in 1997 by three former Looking Glass Studios employees, Levine included, Irrational’s legacy spans titles the likes of System Shock 2, Freedom Force, and SWAT 4. In 2006, Take-Two purchased the studio, publishing their industry celebrated, publicly revered Bioshock series under the 2K Games label. Subsequently, the future of Bioshock franchise, now estimated to have made over a half billion dollars in revenue, is in 2K’s hands.

Irrational’s last effort will be Bioshock Infinite’s Burial at Sea: Episode 2; the final expansion to their last game. My best wishes go out to the studio’s team members. Thank you for the many, many hours we’ve spent lost, enthralled, and loving your worlds.

Concept Art for Abandoned Bioshock Movie Hits the Web 

Here lies what could have been. It really wasn’t too long ago that Hollywood, wishing to ride the success of Irrational’s intellectual shooter, was spinning the wheels on a full feature Bioshock film.

The silver screen adaptation was being backed by Universal Studios with Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski helming ship; all under the watchful eye of series mastermind Ken Levine. Originally supported by a $200 million dollar budget and Verbinski’s intent on making a “hard-rated,” rated R film, Bioshock seemed set to reign in a new era of video game film – one in which we wouldn’t be privy to two hours of cringe culling shit.

But like Halo before it, Universal was uncomfortable shilling out that much cash for both an R-rated film and a video game adaptation. Levine suspected the then-recent box office disappointment of the very expensive and very R-rated Watchmen led to Universal slashing Bioshock’s budget down to $80 million. “The studio got cold feet about making an R-rated $200 million film,” said Levine.

Soon after, development hell crept up on the project. Gore Verbinski, unhappy with the lowered budget, departed. A new director was chosen but Levine says he just didn’t fit. Take Two, Bioshock’s rights holders, went to Ken for the final say on the film. “They said to me, ‘if you want to kill it Ken, kill it.’ And I killed it.”

What remains of the film’s pre-production includes conceptual artist Jim Martin’s designs. You can view his entire gallery of work he laid out for the film here which features areas of Rapture never explored in the game. If Martin’s renderings are any indication, the film looked to faithfully recreate Irrational Games’ dystopia beneath the sea. Oh, what could’ve been.

Burial At Sea: Episode One Dated For November

Mark the date, friends. Bioshock Infinite’s first story DLC, Burial At Sea, will be made downloadable on November 12th.

I hope it’s not too spoilerish to reveal that the Infinite in Bioshock Infinite refers to a myriad of parallel dimensions; each with an uncanny resemblance to one another, but each uniquely their own. I think it’s safe to assume Burial At Sea is set in one such alternate world, one that brings you back to the underwater utopia of Rapture on the night it became a dystopia.

Before the fall of Rapture, you’ll once again play as Booker DeWitt, tasked by the noir-y Elizabeth above to find a missing girl within the city. After its fall, the script is flipped and you’ll play as Elizabeth for the first time in Episode Two, still in the works.

Both episodes are $14.99 each or, for you Season Pass holders, an in-game button click away.

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