Irrational Games closure led to 75 layoffs, job fair hosted 57 studios

The shutdown of Irrational Games resulted in 75 layoffs, and the job fair that the company hosted to help them find employment brought in 57 studios, an Irrational Games spokesperson told Polygon today.

Earlier this month, Irrational co-founder Ken Levine announced that less than a year after the release of BioShock Infinite, the studio would be "winding down," which meant that everyone but Levine and 15 others were being laid off. Levine and his team will start a new studio under Irrational's parent company, Take-Two Interactive, where they will focus on creating smaller, digitally delivered titles that are "narrative-driven games for the core gamer."

According to an Irrational representative, 70 permanent employees and five contractors lost their jobs as a result of that decision.

In the letter posted to Irrational's website, Levine also said that Irrational officials would "make sure that the people who are leaving have as much support as we can give them during this transition." Those efforts included "financial support," as well as a recruiting day held on Feb. 26. The Irrational rep told Polygon that 57 different game studios, including other subsidiaries of Take-Two as well as external companies, attended the job fair to interview the 75 former employees of Irrational Games.

For more on the closure of Irrational Games, check out our report on what it means for the gaming industry.