2K Marin

Overview

2K Marin studio was established in November 2007 by a group of five people who previously worked on Bioshock. These five people joined the 2K Marin team to continue their work on the Bioshock franchise. This includes the Playstation 3 version of Bioshock as well as its sequels. 2K Boston and 2K Australia will be helping with the development of the Playstation 3 version of Bioshock but 2K Marin developed the critically acclaimed sequel to Bioshock, Bioshock 2.

Ken Levine Controversy

During the early stages of 2K Marin a rumor had been circulating stating the members of 2K Marin had formed their own company so they could distance themselves from Ken Levine and work on Bioshock's sequel without him. The rumor said members of 2K Marin felt it was impossible to work with Ken and they would be making the sequel without him. However, 2K Marin later announced that Ken Levine would be working with them on Bioshock 2.

In Development

On April 14th, 2010, 2K Marin announced it was at work on a reboot of one of gaming's most beloved franchises, XCOM. It is being developed for the XBOX 360 and Windows PC gaming platforms, with no mention of a possible PS3 port. The biggest change to the series will be the shift from strategy game to the first-person shooter genre.

"With BioShock 2, the team at 2K Marin proved themselves as masters of first-person, suspenseful storytelling, and with XCOM they will re-imagine and expand the rich lore of this revered franchise," said Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K. "Players will explore the world of XCOM from an immersive new perspective and experience firsthand the fear and tension of this gripping narrative ride."

Closure (ongoing situation)

In October 2013, 2k Marin was effectively dissolved in a massive layoff due to poor sales performance of The Bureau: XCOM Declassified.