2K Boston Reclaims Irrational Name

BioShock developer 2K Boston is reclaiming its old identity, via a name change back to Irrational Games after almost two and a half years without it. Consumer magazine Game Informer reports on the change, by which the team also gains not only its old name and a new logo, but a re-focus on the studio's own particular flavor and fanbase. The original Irrational Games, founded by Ken Levine and fellow veterans of venerated Looking Glass Studios, has a legacy encompassing notable titles like System Shock 2 and Freedom Force. After its acquisition by Take-Two, the Boston studio and its Canberra, Australia branch were renamed 2K Boston and 2K Australia respectively. At that time, Take-Two said it wanted to highlight the team's integration into 2K Games following its "outstanding" work on BioShock, but the publisher's decision now seems to recognize the value in studio identity. Giving acquired studios a unifying name that contains the publisher's name within it is a common tactic for large publishers, but recently, industry discussion has begun to consider the merit in allowing individual studio names as a method of recognizing team individuality and heritage. Electronic Arts recently took a similar step by rebranding its EA Redwood Shores studio to Visceral Games earlier this year, to reflect the studio's identity and the sort of games on which it wants to focus.