cjmelendez_
Today we learned that the esteemed studio that brought us System Shock 2, Tribes: Vengeance, and the Bioshock series, will be closing its doors. News like this is always saddening to hear; it’s almost like saying goodbye to a friend.
Creative Director of Irrational Games, Ken Levine, has opted to pursue something new and in the process, minimizing his team down to 15 people*; Levine calls it “winding down”. He is not parting ways with 2K, mind you, he’s hoping a restructure will lead him to create something new, “narrative-driven”, replayable, and focused on appealing to the core gamer.
In his closure statement on Irrational’s website, Levine stated that his approach to his next project was to follow in the footsteps of those that opted to do independent start-ups. Aware of the risks involved, Levine wrote that one of the things he needed was “a long period of design” – something he did not believe he could accomplish at 2K. Upon presenting his idea to the publisher, they opted to let him do so within their walls. The implications of a move like this are huge. Why? Because a large AAA publisher has opted to let Levine pursue his creative ambitions within their walls instead of letting him go off and become independent. 2K has done something rather interesting: they’ve decided to provide Ken Levine the time, and possibly the creative control, to develop the small-scale project that he wants to make.
Irrational Games, as we know it, is no more, and this is horrible news for fans of their games, and those that need to part with their place of employment. But today also brings us a potentially revolutionary business decision on 2K’s part. Instead of hearing about Levine’s potentially risky independent project and letting him depart like he thought he needed to do, they opted to support it. I think that’s interesting. Perhaps this is 2K embracing an alternative to the “bigger means better” mindset that AAA publishers seem to be attached to. Inflated sales projections and massive budgets don’t mean a guaranteed success; we’ve seen countless times that these AAA ideals can lead to overspending, studio closures, and the death of beloved IPs.
I admit, this is presumptuous of me, but I see this as a possible sign of change – a forward thinking decision that could benefit gamers by giving us more creative, focused games, and benefit the industry because a AAA publisher has pursued something small-scale with a creative lead as well-known and established as Levine.
2K believes in Levine’s next project, in turn they have shown belief that a small-scale team can create something worthy of investing in. I see this business decision as an interesting silver lining in today’s sad news. What we’re looking at here may be a sign of a AAA publisher opening the door to more creative risks in the industry that other AAA publishers may follow.
—
*It’s always troubling when people lose their jobs. Until details are released and we know for sure whether or not Irrational’s 100+ employees were privy to the studio’s closure news, and whether or not their relocation efforts will be handled with care by 2K, I chose not to point fingers or address this issue directly. This article is focused on Take-Two’s choice to allow Levine to pursue a smaller-scale passion project, which goes against the norm for AAA publishers. If this decision was only made possible due to the firing and closure of the studio, then I’ll address that in the future. The displacement of so many people is in no way a happy occasion.
