I might have gone for the headline Two key Bioshock Infinite developers leave Irrational, but worryingly enough it was already taken back in August. At that time, it was art director Nate Wells who left Boston for Santa Monica to join Naughty Dog; now, AI lead Don Norbury and combat design director Clint Bundrick have jumped the boat to take on new roles at Microsoft.
Their LinkedIn profiles – noticed by Superannuationand Develop-reveal nothing of their current projects, but Norbury is now a senior software development engineer; Bundrick, a senior designer.
Sitting on the outside as we do, it looks like somebody has given Ken Levine’s ant hill a good old shake. But then, in a project of Bioshock’s size the time inevitably comes for the ideas box to be shoved under a desk and the polish to be applied; the time when creative minds grow idle and are wont to wander. Or perhaps the reason is simply that Irrational’s staff are amongst the most employable in the business.
What do you think is at the bottom of Irrational’s latest staff shuffle? And what is going on at Microsoft, a company now famous for outsourcing its game development?