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2K Australia games studio shuts down

by Mark Tyson on 16 April 2015, 11:05

Tags: 2K Games (NASDAQ:TTWO)

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Australia's last remaining AAA games studio has shut down according to reports. Games and culture magazine Kotaku says that the Canberra-based 2K Australia studio is closing in its entirety and all studio staff members will lose their jobs.

2K Australia's most recent blockbuster games title was Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, the third major game in that series which in chronologically positioned between the earlier Borderlands 1 and 2 games. It introduced moon-based low-gravity FPS mayhem and a requirement for oxygen resources to the series. The game was generally well received and a recent Claptastic Voyage story pack DLC was said to be great fun. Previously 2K Australia had played a major part in developing the BioShock series, as part of Irrational Games, and The Bureau: XCOM Declassified, among others.

Operating costs were said to be at the heart of the decision to close the studio down. A previous idea to relocate to Melbourne is said to have caused some key staff members to quit, which didn't help the Australian cause. An official 2K Games statement putting forward reasons and confirming the closure, received by Kotaku, read as follows:

"We can confirm we have taken steps to begin the studio closure process for 2K Australia in order to better manage ongoing development costs while improving the working proximity of our creative teams. We are very grateful for the team’s valuable contributions to numerous 2K projects, and are working with affected staff to explore reassignment opportunities where possible."

There is no information on what 2K's Canberra studios are/were working on as they shut down.



HEXUS Forums :: 11 Comments

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Freedom Force
Tribes: Vengeance
SWAT 4
BioShock
BioShock 2
BioShock Infinite
The Bureau: XCOM Declassified
Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel!

Apart from maybe BS1&2, I don't see it as a great loss.
I think it reflects a wider concern about the cost of doing business in Australia, they've already lost all of their car manufacturing, now it's finished off a creative industry.

Wages in Australia are high but they have to be because the cost of living is horrendous.

Its a bit of a vicious circle.
Bagpuss
I think it reflects a wider concern about the cost of doing business in Australia, they've already lost all of their car manufacturing, now it's finished off a creative industry.

Wages in Australia are high but they have to be because the cost of living is horrendous.

Its a bit of a vicious circle.

Kind if off-topic, but I wonder if the fact that I'm of the mindset that the cost of living is high because of the high minimum wage vs you thinking that wages are high because of high living costs reflects anything about ourselves.

Either way, it's a shame as I quiet liked the BioShock games.but like Shaithis points out. Its not going to be a huge miss really…
Oz had ridden the wave of the Chinese commodity boom.
shaithis

BioShock
BioShock 2
BioShock Infinite


Apart from maybe BS1&2, I don't see it as a great loss.
Quite liked ‘Infinite myself. Didn’t bother with the first two because the storyline really put me off (plus all the baa-baa's saying that if you didn't have BS in your collection then you weren't really a gamer).

Shame when any development house closes - although I've got to wonder about the “key players” that refused to relocate. Kind of looks like they messed it up for the rest…