Australia has been dealt another blow in the video game development industry with one of the fairly big companies closing up shop. 2K Australia; most noted for the recent development of Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, has been forced to close down due to “high running costs” in Australia. The Canberra-based branch had put out a statement for the public in regards to this event:
“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.”
The branch became 2K Australia in 2007 when the founding members that formed Irrational Games had been purchased by Take-Two Interactive. In its lifetime, the company had developed games like Freedom Force, Tribes Vengeance; and alongside other 2K branches, developed the Bioshock series.
This closure has done a huge number to the game development scene in Australia; being one of the few big developing companies to operate in Australia. This could only mean budding new developers have to go indie or outsource their talents overseas. I personally wish for the game development scene in Australia thrives.
For now; we hope these talented people over at 2K Australia are able to find a job doing what they love to do as soon as possible, and we wish the team all the best!