2K Marin, the studio behind Bioshock 2 and the recently released The Bureau: XCOM Declassified, has reportedly been hit with significant layoffs. A 2K Games representative confirmed to Game Informer that the company underwent “staff reductions” recently, saying:
“We can confirm staff reductions at 2K Marin. While these were difficult decisions, we regularly evaluate our development efforts and have decided to reallocate creative resources. Our goal to create world-class video game titles remains unchanged.”
While the 2K representative confirmed that there were staff reductions at the Marin studio, a source speaking to Polygon says that “a majority of the team was let go” and that they were “100 percent sure that 2K Marin was closed.” While 2K Games has not confirmed this, it appears that 2K Marin will join the long list of studios that have been shuttered within the past few years.
Right now it seems that some of the people who were working at 2K Marin will be shifted into the various other branches of 2K Games. The same source that spoke to Polygon confirmed that some of the people affected by the layoff may be shifting over to a San Francisco based 2K studio headed up by Rod Fergusson, who worked on the Gears of War franchise and Bioshock Infinite.
This is not terribly surprising news considering the fact that The Bureau was both a critical and financial disappointment. That disappointment is further exasperated by the tough and troubled development that the title went through prior to its release. Even though it made the drastic shift from first person shooter to third person, I still enjoyed some of the ideas that The Bureau brought to the table and it’s sad that the development team won’t be able to do anything else with the property.
Regardless, no one likes to see a studio shuttered and our thoughts are with the talented people who are now without jobs.
Published: Oct 18, 2013 01:22 pm