Irrational Nabs Gears of War Exec Producer, Multiplayer Modes Slip from Bioshock Infinite

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Lee Bradley

This evening has seen a flurry of announcements and reports surrounding Bioshock Infinite and the studio behind it, Irrational Games. 

Following the exit of a couple of high-profile staff yesterday, Irrational has announced that Gears of War executive producer Rod Fergusson has joined the team, while multiplayer modes have been dropped from Bioshock Infinite.

Let’s start with Bioshock Infinite’s multiplayer. According to Kotaku, two planned co-operative modes have been been consigned to the cutting room floor.

The first was a tower defence-type game in which miniature characters did battle against waves of toy-like enemies in an “old-timey arcade machine.” Which sounds odd.

The second apparently had the working title of “Spec-Ops,” borrowing the basic structure of Modern Warfare game mode, with players teaming up against enemies in levels inspired by the single-player campaign.

Irrational Games’ creative director Ken Levine responded to the report saying “As I’ve always said we are experimenting with things, and only if they are good enough will we put them in the game.”

The news comes following the departure two key members of Irrational’s Bioshock Infinite team, director of product development Tim Gerritson and art director Nate Wells.

Levine said, “We never like to see a guy like Nate leave because he’s been here for a long time but it’s been 13 years and I think sometimes people want to spread their wings.”

Meanwhile, as Gerritson and Wells leave the team, Rod Fergusson joins. The Gears of War executive producer revealed on Twitter, “Yes it’s true, I’m leaving my family at Epic to join my new family at Irrational in Boston starting tomorrow.”

Alongside Cliff Bleszinski, Fergusson was one of the figureheads of the Gears of War series, following a spell of eight years in an executive producer role at Epic Games.

Comments
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  • Guess I can stop following Rod Fergusson on Twitter now. He was a decent source of info on Gears stuff, but I have no interest in the Bioshock series. I will say good luck to Rod in the future though. And I think it's a good thing that Irrational Games has decided to drop MP. Sometimes games just aren't meant to be played online.
  • Multiplayer does not belong in any Bioshock game anyhow. I'm sick to death of the popularity of online multiplayer these days and how Pubs and Devs would rather make a short campaign than give us a golden concreate single player story driven campaign. The rise of online Multiplayer's popularity is why we all boost that nonsense in the first place.
  • I always hated Todd Fergusson
  • That multiplayer actually sounded awesome. Campaign like levels for the sake of co-op? A 'horde mode' type ordeal? That would have been a big change from Bioshock's 2 basic gametype multiplayer... I wish it could have seen the light of day.
  • Wonder why Rod would leave Epic :/ They seem to be a really cool company to work for.. then again, working under Ken Levine must be cool too. Lucky guy :P
  • He advocated those on-disc skinpacks. Good riddance.
  • Never should have beem considered anyway.Atleast now we dont have to worry about any bullshit achievements.
  • Well I hated the thought of mp in Red Dead Redemption, but look how that turned out.
  • Praise be! I hope everyone departing and moving on has the right fit ahead of them. I have so much more enthusiasm now that the looming specter of unnecessary MP isn't hanging over this game. If only all developers could be this frank about whether it's truly a quality inclusion or just chasing after that extra dollar which is a crass and cynical reason to put anything in. Just to show that I have my own petty streak though, I'm also glad because I don't like MP achievements. Everything should be able to be "achieved" on your own (the quotes are for that one person who might scorn the idea of achievements as arbitrary while posting on an achievement tracking site). One thing that ME 3 can't be faulted for. One more cheer for good decision making. Cheers!
  • @8 I hated the idea of MP in Bioshock 2 and i was right! Infinite would be a better game without Multiplayer anyway, that's what made the first game so great. I mean, I can take Co-op but not full on PvP.
  • I guess he got tired of making game characters modeled after the rock and arnold swarzendkfjskfjkfj
  • Oh boy, expect huge exp boosts.
  • NOOO! Please come back Rod!
  • No MP is fine by me. However, I was one of the few who liked the MP in Bioshock 2. I really hope Infinite comes out on time and I will be pleased if its even half the game the first Bioshock masterpiece was. BTW, @1. Your nuts. No interest in Bioshock? That's blasphemy.
  • Good. Multiplayer isn't always necessary, especially if it's going to be a carbon-copy of MW.
  • Jump ship before Gears of War FPS or Kinect game... Smart man.
  • multiplayer is not unnecessary the multiplayer in 2 was alright but i think it took away from the single player, but hey im just some dude
  • Oh Mann.. Now we're all gonna have to hear even more from Cliffy B.
  • Simply put; Bioshock Infinite doesn't need multiplayer. It will be an amazing experience just by itself. Can't wait!
  • BioShock 2's multiplayer was enjoyable, but there shouldn't have been achievements tied to it. That's something I actually like about the Modern Warfare series. There aren't any Achievements for the multiplayer, so the only people who play it are those who want to so you don't have to be forced into it.
  • Huh kinda surprised to hear about Rod leaving Epic. Wonder if something happened. Good luck to all of them. I hope there is no MP in Infinite. Not every game needs it.
  • So, i guess this is why people left from the Infinite team.
  • Now that i didnt expect to read that. Pity reading is such an over looked skill recently, they said they have dropped SOME modes from MP, not the experience as a whole. Please note the word some. I may not miss them but the first one soubded interesting, I like TD stuff.
  • @2 Agreed. Deus Ex: HR FTW.
  • @22 If this turns into another Bioshock 2, then that may make me rethink the purchase.
  • @23 I meant.
  • I'm glad he's gone. Maybe Gears can get back to being good now.
  • Oh God, this is the worst news ever. Rod is going to single-handedly mess this game up.
  • Lol I didn't even know they had planned MP/CO-OP, and Good luck to Rod!
  • BioShock Infinite just got good again. Let this game be proof that you do not need multiplayer to sell a lot of copies, just a good story and solid gameplay. Best of luck to Fergusson at Irrational.
  • @28 How exactly is he going to do that? Spill some coffee on Ken's keyboard or something?
  • No multiplayer in Infinite? Looks like I'm going to have to re-pre-order.
  • @16 just in time for BioShock Karts! Shut up.
  • Wow, bringing Rod in signals that they probably do want to salvage something from the multiplayer. Rod has been a big multiplayer guy over at Gears and I can't imagine them bringing him over just to work on single player content.
  • this is bitter sweet for me. though it was completely uncalled for, i did enjoy 2's mp.
  • Gee, what's with all the hate on Rod? O_o Guy's awesome in any reasonable person's opinion; he shared Gears data over Twitter, always was happy to do QA's, and was always one of the "better" Gears devs. (In fact, how many interviews can you compare Rod and Cliffy B in?) @ 27 Gears is still "good" by opinion, but if you think it's not- I'd sure like to hear how the hell you think Rod has a major part to do with it. If anything you should be blaming Quinn DelHoyo, who just took Rod's position or even Clifford. :/
  • I really honestly love bioshock 2's multi-player. it was chaotic and frantic plasmids flying left and rightm I wish it had more time developing it, as it did seem rather tacked on. But on the whole was still better than c.o.d. with its fresh new take on the same boring fps formula very innovative that being said, I really dont know how it would have played out in infinite, different setting and new take on the plasmids Meh time will tell
  • @ everyone. Can someone please show me where it says that there will be NO multiplayer? I can only find evidence of them dropping two specific MODES. It seems to me that they have been very careful to specify "modes" as opposed to the whole notion of a multiplayer. If someone has already mentioned this, apologies :) Also why people complain about the BS2 multiplayer is beyond me, I thought it was simple, fun and well justified within the parameters of the story. @37 well I think that the skylines/hooks could've added greatly to the chaos and I believe that the Vigours (Plasmids) are not locked in Infinite so lots of powerups I guess.
  • @ 38 Just a guess but, perhaps if they had spent less (no) time on the Bioshock 2 multiplayer- the singleplayer would've been a bit better. That's probably the biggest reason. Other than than that, it really was simply tacked on. Fun for about a week, then it got incredibly boring. (And you're talking to a guy who maxed out Dead Space 2 MP! lol) Why try and add a mediocre MP component, when everyone will just forget about it and go back to the bigger ones? (Ex: CoD, Halo, Gears, etc)
  • @ 6 That was Cliffy bs work not Rodds get your facts right yeah. Without Rod working on Gears it would have been another Gears2 Although at times he didn't have a clue what he was talking about he was a good asset
  • I actually enjoyed the MP in BS2... but it looks like I'm in the minority.
  • I don't think mp being included would have any effect on the sp. The thing I loved about the 1st was the story, with the 2nd they included mp but that would in no way effect the story or gameplay of sp. And the campaign wasn't that short either
  • @36 This guy was responsible for the horrible placing of Gears 3 dedicated servers ( I'm over here in Washington state getting matched with people from Mexico ), being a strong supporter for the sawed off ( he even admitted that he wanted it because he was garbage with the gnasher ), and being proponent for all the on disk items for Gears 3. He was cancer, and if Quinn took his position, I'm completely okay with that as he is a bro and knows of all these problems and hopefully will address them in the Gears of War after Judgement ( or even in judgement would be nice ).
  • lol@ppl using distance as a measure of connection quality lurn2internet as for the topic, i can careless if they took MP out, BioShock 1 didnt win GOTY with any MP and they watered down 2's campaign just to make room for it.
  • Surprised at the news about Fergusson, but thank God multiplayer modes have been cut! BioShock doesn't need them! The first certainly didn't.
  • I don't believe multiplayer is necessary at all for this game, but it must be said that those two actually sounded like they might be a bit more fun, rather than just mindless PvP again.
  • I liked Bioshock 2's multiplayer
  • @1 all games can have online ONLY if it can done correctly.
  • @ 43 Wasn't a decision he made alone, Capps had a say in it. The topic itself is a pretty trashy subject (because obviously it's annoying whenever you experience it), but I really don't think you should pin the blame on Rod alone. It goes much deeper than one single guy's saying too. (Also, this is pretty much a lag-related problem- they're almost natural in Gears. Always have been.) Quinn, with all due respect- is a greenhorn. He made the original Trenches, which would've been pretty terrible had the Beta not intervened, but there's still Overpass; which is so horrible that it's taken off circulation when the servers are online. (I won't even mention what kind of a joke TDM is...) Judgment as much as I try to avoid saying it, looks like an attempt to milk the Gears series before the next gen console is released. :/ (And you know who's behind OverRun? None other than Mr. DelHoyo!)
  • you think they'd have waited before infinite released before leaving, as for rod joining them i'm not sure where that came from but could be a good thing people are saying good that the multiplayer modes aren't in it but i think it's a shame, competitive multiplayer in bioshock my not have been brilliant but i think cooperative based would have been awesome
  • That mindless PvP that everyone keeps hating is hell mad in my opinion. Adds replay value to the game. I was looking forward to slaying people. Can you name any other multiplayer game that even vaguely resembles BS?
  • @51 You mean a game where you choose a load out and go kill people or capture a "flag"? Hmmmm..... honestly, I can't. I've NEVER played or even seen a game like that.
  • @9 "Everything should be able to be "achieved" on your own". I don't know where you got that idea or who came up with that, but games are made for a lot of people in mind. Thinking achievement lists should be tailored to your liking is unrealistic. Just because you don't like MP achievements means there should be some imaginary idea/rule against them? Because you and some other people have become OCD with them and twisted/perverted the achievement system into their every living breath of enjoying the game. I guess those people who like MP achievements don't exist to you, right? @51 Don't waste your breath. This sites community is highly biased against MP and MP achievements. You'll notice some of people are like #9 and have this imaginary idea that achievements should be only what they like and want. They don't care about what anyone else likes or enjoys, if it gets in the way of their enjoyment it doesn't matter. I've actually had a member from here tell me in a message that I should be shot for my dumb comments, which were about liking MP achievements.
  • @53 COD has been number 1 on XBL since 2007 with each annual release, none of which has MP achievments a perfect example of what can be achievmed when the developers just make the f'ning game FUN rather than try to put a bunch of achievments to entice ppl to play it nobody is playing COD 4 thru MW3 because they need 100 kills with the MP40 to unlock the 10G achievment, they're playing it cause its fun meanwhile achievement whores waste their time going for "seriously 3.0" in gears and complain about the game because their so frustrated for not being able to play anything else cause that 100G matters that much to them and they act as if anyone is actually making them play it lol
  • DAM that sucks for gears.. But bioshock should not have multiplayer any way I only tried it in part 2 for a day but it did not grab my attention it was kinda tacked on i thought but i wonder who will take rods place at epic?
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