Irrational Games

What Irrational Games does

Irrational Games is a narrative-driven video game development studio founded in 1997 by Ken Levine. The studio is best known for the BioShock franchise — BioShock (2006) and BioShock Infinite (2013) — which established it as a reference point for atmospheric, philosophically themed first-person shooter design. In 2017, Ken Levine restructured and rebranded the studio as Ghost Story Games, operating as a wholly owned subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive Software under its 2K publishing label. The studio is headquartered in the United States, with operations referenced in California, and falls within the 51-100 employee range.

The company's core technology consists of proprietary narrative-driven FPS game engines and world-building systems, including environmental storytelling mechanics, interactive dialogue systems, and world-construction tooling. These capabilities allow the studio to embed narrative and lore into environmental design rather than relying solely on cinematics or cutscenes. The active product pipeline is anchored by "Judas," a narrative-driven FPS currently in development under the Ghost Story Games brand. The BioShock and BioShock Infinite trademarks remain owned by Take-Two Interactive and represent the studio's legacy IP. Ken Levine, the studio's founder and primary creative architect, departed in 2023, leaving the studio's creative leadership continuity as an open question.

Revenue flows through Take-Two's publishing apparatus, with distribution across digital platforms (Steam, the company's own storefront at store.ghoststorygames.com) and physical retail. The studio serves consumer gaming audiences seeking story-driven first-person shooter experiences, with no enterprise customers and no publicly disclosed pricing or revenue figures. The studio does not maintain its own pricing structure independent of its parent publisher, and its commercial fate is effectively tied to Take-Two's publishing strategy for both the back-catalog BioShock IP and the unreleased Judas title.

Name

Irrational Games

Legal name

Irrational Games

Website

https://irrationalgames.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Irrational Games (now operating as Ghost Story Games) is a narrative-driven first-person shooter developer founded in 1997 by Ken Levine, known for the BioShock franchise and currently developing Judas under Take-Two Interactive ownership.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Video Game Development

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132), Doll, Toy, and Game Manufacturing (33993)

akta.pro primary industry

AAA & Premium Game Studios (PC/Console) (MPAFAAAA)

Keywords

• Video game development
• Narrative games
• First-person shooters
• Interactive storytelling
• Game studio

Headquarters

HQ city

Quincy

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Irrational Games is a video game development studio that created the BioShock franchise and developed BioShock Infinite. In 2017, the studio was restructured and rebranded as Ghost Story Games under Take-Two Interactive, where it is currently developing the upcoming narrative-driven game Judas. The studio sells games through digital storefronts, its own online store, and physical retail channels to consumers globally.

Product overview

Ghost Story Games is the successor studio to Irrational Games, founded by Ken Levine, operating under Take-Two Interactive. The studio is currently developing the upcoming game Judas. The company holds the BioShock and BioShock Infinite intellectual property trademarks, with BioShock being recognized for its exceptional world-building in video game journalism as an FPS franchise.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Judas An upcoming video game currently in development by Ghost Story Games, the successor studio to Irrational Games founded by Ken Levine.
• BioShock The original BioShock franchise and intellectual property developed by Irrational Games, recognized for its immersive, deeply atmospheric game world and complex narrative systems.
• BioShock Infinite The third installment in the BioShock series, developed by Irrational Games, noted in industry coverage for its narrative and world-building.

Quantifiable outcome

• BioShock franchise is consistently cited as one of gaming's greatest achievements in world-building and narrative design

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Take-Two Interactive SoftwarecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2002Take-Two Interactive is the parent company and publisher for Ghost Story Games (formerly Irrational Games). The company publishes games under its Take-Two label and owns the rights to the BioShock franchise. Ghost Story Games is a studio under Take-Two Interactive's publishing umbrella.

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Arkane Studios: Developer of Dishonored, Prey, and Deathloop — narrative-driven immersive sims/FPS titles with strong world-building. Closely aligned with Ghost Story Games in creative philosophy, target audience (narrative FPS players), and AAA single-player scope.
• Naughty Dog: Sony-owned developer of Uncharted and The Last of Us, exemplifying the narrative-driven AAA single-player model. Comparable in studio-level craft, critical acclaim, and console-first premium positioning.
• Santa Monica Studio: Sony-owned developer of God of War. Comparable as a boutique AAA studio under a major publisher specializing in narrative-driven action games with strong critical reception.
• Bethesda Game Studios: Developer of Fallout and The Elder Scrolls franchises. Comparable as a narrative-rich, world-building-focused AAA studio now under Microsoft, with a similar single-player premium RPG/FPS heritage.
• id Software: Developer of DOOM and Quake — foundational narrative-FPS franchises with a comparable emphasis on atmospheric world design and genre-defining execution.
• Crystal Dynamics: Developer of the Tomb Raider reboot series. Comparable as a AAA narrative-driven action-adventure studio focused on immersive single-player experiences and atmospheric world-building.
• Bungie: Developer of Halo and Destiny. Comparable as a studio with deep narrative-FPS heritage now operating under Sony ownership, with a similar trajectory from single-player storytelling toward live-service models.
• 2K Games: Sister studio/publisher under Take-Two Interactive that publishes BioShock and oversees Ghost Story Games. Operates adjacent narrative and AAA franchises (Civilization, NBA 2K, Borderlands) and is the most directly comparable peer in terms of publishing relationship and portfolio fit.

Emerging players

• 4A Games: Developer of the Metro series — atmospheric, narrative-driven FPS games with a focused, smaller-team approach. Comparable in narrative-FPS DNA and atmospheric world-building, though at a smaller production scale.
• Supergiant Games: Independent developer of Bastion, Transistor, Hades, and Pyre. Comparable in narrative-first design ethos and award-winning world-building, though at a smaller indie scale and with broader genre focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/irrationalgames
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@GhostStoryGames
• Facebookfacebook.com/IrrationalGames
• Instagraminstagram.com/ghoststorygames
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/irrational-games

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Irrational Games