2K Marin, Inc.
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryVideo games
FoundedDecember 17, 2007; 16 years ago (2007-12-17)
DefunctOctober 17, 2013 (2013-10-17)
Headquarters
Novato, California
,
US
Parent2K

2K Marin, Inc. was an American video game developer based in Novato, California. Founded in December 2007 as a spin-off from their parent, 2K, the company developed BioShock 2 (2010) and The Bureau: XCOM Declassified (2013) before laying off or relocating all staff in October 2013 and silently being closed.

History

The formation of 2K Marin was announced on December 17, 2007.[1][2] The studio was spun out of 2K, a publishing subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive, to develop a second installment in the BioShock series, following disputes with Ken Levine, the director of the first game.[3]

In April 2010, for the development of XCOM (later The Bureau: XCOM Declassified), sister studio 2K Australia adopted the 2K Marin name.[4] The studio dropped the 2K Marin label in November 2010 and returned to the previous 2K Australia name, this time for BioShock Infinite.[5][6]

On October 17, 2013, 2K announced that 2K Marin had been hit with massive staff reductions, laying off the majority of employees.[7] All remaining developers were to be shifted to an unnamed 2K studio founded with Rod Fergusson.[8] That studio, like 2K Marin based in Novato, was announced by Fergusson in September that year.[9][10] Some former employees agreed that 2K Marin was "essentially closed" due to these layoffs, as the employee count had sunk to zero.[11] 2K Marin was shut down silently, which has not been publicly acknowledged by 2K.[12]

Despite this, Take-Two Interactive's chairman and chief executive officer, Strauss Zelnick, stated in May 2014 that 2K Marin was still active, and that future BioShock games would be developed at the studio.[13][14] 2K later announced in December 2019 that the new BioShock game was being developed by a new internal studio, Cloud Chamber, which had taken over the old 2K Marin spaces.[15]

Games developed

Year Title Platform(s) Notes
2008 BioShock PlayStation 3[16] Ported only; game developed by 2K Boston and 2K Australia
2010 BioShock 2 Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 —
2013 The Bureau: XCOM Declassified Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

References

  1. ^ Alexander, Leigh (December 17, 2007). "Take-Two Opens New Marin 2K Studio". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on February 25, 2018. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  2. ^ Martin, Matt (December 17, 2007). "Take Two opens new Californian studio". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on February 24, 2018. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  3. ^ Kohler, Chris (December 17, 2007). "Rumor Roundup: What's Up With 2K Marin And BioShock". Wired. Archived from the original on February 24, 2018. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  4. ^ Plunkett, Luke (April 16, 2010). "2K Studio Name Madness Continues With New XCOM Game". Kotaku. Archived from the original on February 24, 2018. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  5. ^ Rose, Mike (November 25, 2011). "Report: 2K Canberra Renamed Back To 2K Australia, Working On Bioshock Infinite". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on February 19, 2018. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  6. ^ Serrels, Mark (November 28, 2011). "2K's Canberra Studio Renamed (Again), Now Working On BioShock Infinite". Kotaku Australia. Archived from the original on February 19, 2018. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  7. ^ McElroy, Griffin (October 17, 2013). "BioShock 2, The Bureau: XCOM Declassified dev 2K Marin hit with massive layoffs". Polygon. Archived from the original on October 23, 2018. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  8. ^ Ligman, Kris (October 17, 2013). "Layoffs hit 2K Marin, remaining workforce to be 'reallocated'". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on February 25, 2018. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  9. ^ Ligman, Kris (September 26, 2013). "Epic, Irrational alumnus to helm 2K's newest studio". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on February 25, 2018. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  10. ^ Sarkar, Samit (September 26, 2013). "Former Gears of War, BioShock Infinite producer heading new 2K studio". Polygon. Archived from the original on February 25, 2018. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  11. ^ Grayson, Nathan (October 17, 2013). "Sources: Bureau XCOM, BioShock 2 Dev 'Essentially' Closed". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Archived from the original on September 13, 2018. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  12. ^ Schreier, Jason (December 9, 2019). "Sources: The New BioShock Has Been In The Works For Years". Kotaku.
  13. ^ Weber, Rachel (May 30, 2014). "Zelnick: 2K Marin now "responsible for" Bioshock franchise". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on February 24, 2018. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  14. ^ Rose, Mike (May 30, 2014). "2K Marin has been put in charge of BioShock's future". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on February 24, 2018. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  15. ^ Phillips, Tom (December 9, 2019). "New BioShock game announced, still "several" years away". Eurogamer.
  16. ^ IGN Staff (May 28, 2008). "2K Games Injects PlayStation 3 System Owners with Genetically Enhanced Version of BioShock". IGN.
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