The “Break it Down” Blog

For more drama in the gaming sector, the brains behind the original BioShock game and story, Ken Levine (above), looks like he’s getting the boot from making BioShock 2. Destructoid has the scoop, and the quote isn’t very nice:

2K Boston is still recovering - a good chunk of the BioShock team did not want to work with Ken ever again, and 2K definitely understood the sentiment and let them set up a new studio so that they can make Bioshock 2, leaving Ken with Project X. A good chunk of the other senior 2K Boston people who were sick of Ken but didn’t move to San Francisco ended up scattering to other AAA developers instead. In Quincy, they’re essentially rebuilding a team from almost scratch again.

Still recovering? From what? Getting piles of money dropped in their laps? Or making one of the biggest games of the year that has garnered nothing but praise? Another weird thing is I’ve read a few interviews with Ken who was described as “one of the nicest guys you’d ever meet”.

Anyone wonder if the ousting and bad-mouthing coming from anonymous tipsters is character-assassination to justify getting rid of Levine? I wonder if he asked for too much money and the studio decided they had enough, wanted him out, but would need to justify it so fans wouldn’t crap bricks over it, so they gave him the up-the-butt treatment.