2K Boston/2K Australia

Infobox Company
company_name = 2K Boston/2K Australia
company_
company_type = Private
foundation = 1997
location_city = Boston, Massachusetts
location_country = United States
key_people = Ken Levine,
Jonathan Chey,
Robert Fermier
industry = Interactive entertainment
products =
revenue =
operating_income =
net_income =
num_employees =
homepage = [http://www.irrationalgames.com/ Official Irrational Games Site]

2K Boston/2K Australia (previously known as Irrational Games) 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.

2K Boston/2K Australia has two studios, one in Quincy, USA just outside Boston and the other in Canberra, Australia. It has also spawned a new studio located in California called 2K Marin.

History

* 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. [http://ir.take2games.com/ReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=183561] .
* 2007 – Irrational Games is renamed to 2K Boston and 2K Australia. [ [http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20070810005400&newsLang=en Irrational Games name change] ] "BioShock" released August 21 to wide critical acclaim and strong sales.

Shortly after Bioshock was released, rumors arose that many of the staff who had worked on the game were leaving 2k Boston/Australia. It was also rumored that 2k Games was allowing them to start a new studio, probably located in Novato, California. [ [http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/50121 Ex-BioShock Staff Starting New 2K Studio in Bay Area, Next 2K Boston Project on Unreal Engine 3 – Shacknews – PC Games, PlayStation, Xbox 360 and Wii video game news, previews and downloads ] ] These rumors were further cemented by the announcement of the formation of 2K Marin in Novato, California shortly after. [ [http://kotaku.com/gaming/industry-news/new-2k-studio-where-the-girls-are-warm-334644.php Industry News: New 2K Studio Where The Girls Are Warm ] ]

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"
*""
*"Freedom Force vs. the Third Reich"
*"SWAT 4"
*""
*"BioShock"
*Unannounced project (allegedly an "X-COM" title [http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/45797] )

References

External links

* [http://www.2kboston.com/ 2K Boston (Quincy, Massachusetts)]
* [http://www.2kaustralia.com/ 2K Australia (Canberra, ACT)]
* [http://www.2kmarin.com/ 2K Marin (Novato, California)]
* [http://www.irrationalgames.com/ Irrational Games (old US website)]
* [http://www.irrational.com.au/ Irrational Games (old AU website)]
* [http://www.mobygames.com/company/irrational-games "Irrational Games"] profile on MobyGames