Two more developers have left Irrational Game, makers of BioShock Infinite. According to LinkedIn, Artificial intelligence lead Don Norbury and combat design director Clint Bundrick are the latest to depart the Boston-based company.
The changes to their LinkedIn pages were first spotted by Superannuation. (Who, incidentally, shares a lot of that kind of scoopery in a regular column here at Kotaku.)
Norbury and Bundrick’s departure comes in the height of crunch-time for the highly anticipated, best-of-E3 award-winning action game. As Kotaku reported in August, the game’s development has been less than smooth, and Irrational has seen a string of high-profile departures, including art director Nate Wells and director of product development Tim Gerritsen. At the same time, Irrational recently hired Rod Fergusson away from Epic Games to help get Infinite out the door. The team at Irrational had reportedly been wrestling with ambitious but eventually axed multiplayer modes as well as difficulties with Elizabeth, the game’s much-vaunted A.I. companion.
According to their LinkedIn pages, both Norbury and Bundrick have taken positions at Microsoft, which adds an interesting wrinkle to their departures. As Superannuation also pointed out, producer Joe Faulstick also departed Irrational for Microsoft back in May.
When asked about the departures, a spokesperson for Irrational had no comment. Irrational and 2K have been uncharacteristically quiet about BioShock Infinite for most of the past year, though they have been teasing a new trailer for October 21, and the game remains slated for a February 2013 release.
BioShock Infinite Update: Multiplayer Modes Cut, Gears Maestro Joining. But Should Fans Worry? [Update]
A string of bad news about one of the most anticipated games on the planet might be giving BioShock Infinite fans cause for concern. But the game’s creative director, Ken Levine, tried to allay concerns during a call with Kotaku today. More »
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