Irrational Games

Irrational Games

Company type	Division (formerly independent)
Industry	Video games
Predecessor	Looking Glass Studios (founders were ex-staff)
Founded	1997 (1997)
Founder	Ken Levine, Jonathan Chey, Robert Fermier
Defunct	2017
Fate	Rebranded as Ghost Story Games
Successor	Ghost Story Games
Headquarters	Westwood, Massachusetts , United States
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Ken Levine (founder, key creative)
Products	BioShock series, System Shock 2, Freedom Force, SWAT 4
Owner	Take-Two Interactive
Number of employees	~90 (before downsizing), ~15 (after downsizing in 2014) (2013, 2014)
Parent	Take-Two Interactive (from 2006)

Irrational Games—known as 2K Boston between 2007 and 2009—was a United States-based video game developer established in 1997 by ex-Looking Glass Studios staff members Ken Levine, Jonathan Chey, and Robert Fermier. The studio was acquired by Take-Two Interactive in 2006 and became renowned for influential titles including BioShock, System Shock 2, Freedom Force, and SWAT 4. Following the release of BioShock Infinite in 2013, Levine downsized the company from approximately 90 employees to about 15, shifting focus toward story-centric game development. In February 2017, Irrational Games was rebranded as Ghost Story Games, continuing operations under the Take-Two umbrella.

Origins and early projects (1997–2005)

Irrational Games was created by Ken Levine, Jonathan Chey, and Robert Fermier after their departure from Looking Glass Studios, initially operating with minimal resources out of Levine’s apartment. Their first endeavor—a single-player campaign for FireTeam—was terminated early by publisher Multitude, leaving the team without active projects. Subsequently, Paul Neurath, founder of Looking Glass, provided a modest budget and office space to support development of System Shock 2, which launched in 1999 to critical praise though achieved only moderate commercial success. Afterward, Chey returned to Australia while Fermier moved on to Ensemble Studios. During this period, Irrational also worked on a cancelled Cold War-themed game titled Deep Cover.

In pursuit of greater autonomy, Irrational partnered with Crave Entertainment on The Lost, a third-person action game for PlayStation 2 inspired by Dante’s Inferno. Development encountered significant technical hurdles when transitioning from LithTech to Unreal Engine, compounded by budget reductions linked to Crave’s financial difficulties; ultimately, the project was cancelled by 2002. Simultaneously, the studio developed the turn-based superhero title Freedom Force primarily at a newly opened Australian branch led by Chey. Released in 2002 under Electronic Arts’ EA Partners label, it garnered moderate commercial success but generated limited royalties.

Following the cancellation of The Lost, Vivendi Games contracted Irrational to develop a single-player story mode for the traditionally multiplayer-focused Tribes franchise. Despite creative disagreements—including Levine’s temporary removal from narrative responsibilities—the resulting game Tribes: Vengeance was released in 2004. The studio continued its collaboration with Vivendi through the development of SWAT 4, which launched in 2005 as part of the Police Quest series.

Acquisition by Take-Two and development of the BioShock franchise (2006–2013)

After System Shock 2, Levine faced difficulty pitching a sequel. Around 2002, he led a small team at Irrational to create BioShock, which featured narrative and gameplay elements reminiscent of System Shock 2, focusing on factions involving drones, protectors, and harvesters. Initial skepticism from publishers regarding the commercial viability of immersive sims was overcome as Irrational refined its concept and attracted media attention. In 2004, Take-Two Interactive agreed to publish the title and acquired Irrational in 2006 under its 2K label. Before the August 2007 release of BioShock, Irrational’s Boston and Australian studios were renamed 2K Boston and 2K Australia. The game received critical acclaim and sold over four million copies by 2013. Following this success, both studios reverted to using the Irrational name in January 2010.

After the release, several key personnel departed from 2K Boston/Australia in 2007; five joined a new Take-Two studio in Novato, California, later known as 2K Marin. While Take-Two pushed for a direct sequel to BioShock, Levine declined leadership to concentrate on a new XCOM project; consequently, 2K Marin developed BioShock 2. By 2008, Levine resumed work on another installment in the BioShock series while the XCOM project progressed at 2K Marin, eventually launching as The Bureau: XCOM Declassified in 2013.

Development on BioShock Infinite, Irrational's final release under that name, commenced in 2008 shortly after completing the original game. Publicly announced in 2010, the project faced intense pressure from both Take-Two and fans to meet high expectations. The team expanded significantly with outsourcing to external studios, complicating production. Levine often revised key story elements late into development, necessitating asset rework. Management difficulties led to senior staff departures in 2012. To ensure timely completion, Take-Two enlisted industry veterans to assist Levine and streamline the project scope, including removing planned multiplayer features. The game was released in March 2013.

Studio downsizing and formation of Ghost Story Games (2014–2017)

On February 18, 2014, Ken Levine announced a major reduction at Irrational Games that resulted in most employees being laid off; only around fifteen staff members remained. Levine intended to establish "a smaller, more entrepreneurial venture within Take-Two," citing burnout from completing BioShock Infinite. His goal was to create a leaner team with a flatter organizational structure that could engage directly with its core audience.

Although Levine considered founding an independent studio outside of Take-Two’s structure, the publisher preferred retaining this division internally, describing it as "the best environment for this next phase." Consequently, Take-Two treated this new entity separately from Irrational Games and did not permit use of the original name. Irrational Games officially closed in 2014; approximately fifteen developers continued alongside Levine at the new studio while roughly seventy-five employees were laid off. To assist displaced workers, 2K organized a career fair.

In subsequent years, some former Irrational personnel returned to Take-Two and its subsidiary studios for new entries in the BioShock franchise without Levine’s involvement. By February 2017, Levine revealed his new company Ghost Story Games, dedicated to producing immersive narrative-driven games targeted at passionate players.

Under Irrational Games

Year	Title	Platform(s)	Publisher	Notes
1999	System Shock 2	Microsoft Windows	Electronic Arts	Co-developed with Looking Glass Studios
2002	Freedom Force	Microsoft Windows	Crave Entertainment
2004	Tribes: Vengeance	Microsoft Windows	Sierra Entertainment	Supported development at 2K Australia
2005	Freedom Force vs the 3rd Reich	Microsoft Windows	Vivendi Universal Games
	SWAT 4	Microsoft Windows	Sierra Entertainment
2006	SWAT 4: The Stetchkov Syndicate	Microsoft Windows
2013	BioShock Infinite	Microsoft Windows	Published by 2K Games
		PlayStation 3
		Xbox 360
	BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea - Episode One	Microsoft Windows
		PlayStation 3
		Xbox 360
2014	BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea - Episode Two	Microsoft Windows
		PlayStation 3
		Xbox 360

Under the name 2K Boston

Year	Title	Platform(s)	Publisher
2007	BioShock	Microsoft Windows	2K Games
		Xbox 360
2008		PlayStation 3

Cancelled titles

• Deep Cover
• Division 9
• Dungeon Duel
• Monster Island
• The Lost
• Freedom Force 3
• Untitled PlayStation Vita entry in the BioShock series