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Irrational Games (known briefly as 2K Boston, Inc/2K Australia Pty. Ltd ) is a video game developer founded in 1997 by three former employees of Looking Glass Studios: Ken Levine, Jonathan Chey, and Robert Fermier as Irrational Games. On January 9, 2006, Take-Two Interactive announced that they had purchased Irrational, and would publish their games under the 2K Games label.

Irrational have two studios, one in Quincy, Massachusetts, USA just outside Boston and the other in Canberra, Australia. A third studio, 2K Marin, includes five former Irrational Games employees and is currently working with the Canberra studio on BioShock 2.

History

Irrational Games old logo

• 1997 – Boston studio formed by former Looking Glass Studios employees Ken Levine, Jonathan Chey, and Robert Fermier.
• 1999 – System Shock 2 released to critical acclaim.
• 2000 – Irrational Canberra opens, with Jonathan Chey taking the helm. Deep Cover is cancelled.
• 2002 – Legal issues with publisher Crave Entertainment result in the development of The Lost being halted.
• 2004 – Irrational designers Ed Orman and Dean Tate awarded "Best Design" in the Australian Game Developer Awards, as well as the studio receiving "Best Game of 2004" and "Best PC Game".
• 2005 – Irrational's Boston studio moves to larger office space in Quincy, Massachusetts. The studio retains the "Irrational Games Boston" title.
• 2006 – Irrational is acquired by Take-Two Interactive, under the 2K Games publishing arm. [2]
• 2007 – Irrational Games is renamed to 2K Boston and 2K Australia.^[1] BioShock released August 21 to wide critical acclaim and strong sales.
• 2010 - 2K Boston announces its return to its original name, "Irrational Games".^[2]

Shortly after BioShock was released, rumors arose that many of the staff who had worked on the game were leaving 2K Boston/Australia. In fact, only five members of the 2K Boston team moved to a new 2K Games studio in Novato, California.^[3] Soon after, 2K Games announced the formation of 2K Marin in Novato.^[4]

Games

• System Shock 2, with assistance from Looking Glass.
• Deep Cover, with assistance from Looking Glass (unreleased)
• The Lost (cancelled after being co-developed with FXLabs Studios)
• Freedom Force
• Tribes: Vengeance
• Freedom Force vs. the Third Reich
• SWAT 4
• SWAT 4: The Stetchkov Syndicate
• BioShock
• Unannounced Project

Despite rumors that this unannounced project is allegedly an X-COM title^[5], 2K Boston President and Co-Founder Ken Levine has refused to state if he is working on a new X-COM title.^[3]

References

1. ^ Irrational Games name change
2. ^ [1]
3. ^ ^{a b} "Q&A: Ken Levine talks BioShock, reminisces about X-Com". GameSpot. 2009-03-20. http://www.gamespot.com/news/6206477.html. Retrieved 2009-04-09.  
4. ^ "Take-Two confirms 2K Marin". GameSpot. 2007-12-17. http://www.gamespot.com/news/6184063.html. Retrieved 2009-04-09.  
5. ^ "Ex-BioShock Staff Starting New 2K Studio in Bay Area, Next 2K Boston Project on Unreal Engine 3". Shacknews. 2007-11-29. http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/50121. Retrieved 2009-04-09.  

External links

• Irrational Games (US)
• Irrational Games (AU)
• 2K Boston (Quincy, Massachusetts)
• 2K Australia (Canberra, ACT)
• Irrational Games profile on MobyGames