Take-Two Interactive trademarked "Ghost Story" sometime last year, and at the time nobody thought much of it. Recent job listings as well as an official website now confirm, however, that "Ghost Story" isn't the title of some new game or IP, but is actually the name of an emerging development studio headed by former BioShock creative director and narrative madman Ken Levine.
The Ghost Story team is Boston based, and its website points out that in addition to Mr. Levine, its staff includes many former members of Irrational Games, the studio behind BioShock and BioShock Infinite. Specifically, Ghost Story was founded by "12 former Irrational Games developers," with the mission of creating "immersive, story-driven games for people who love games that ask something of them." I loosely place myself if that category, so I suppose that means I'll enjoy what Ghost Story eventually creates.
The new studio's FAQ on its official website is quite revealing, and includes the following about the team's origins, past, and future.
We’re a Boston-area game development studio dedicated to making immersive story driven games for gamers that like a challenge. The studio was founded by a group of former Irrational Games developers, such as creative director Ken Levine, art director Shawn Robertson, executive producer Don Roy and more. We’ve been concepting, prototyping and experimenting on a new game for some time now and have attracted new talent along the way. You can learn more about our team and our vision here.
Why the name Ghost Story?
Ghost stories are immersive, exciting, and steeped in community. The name reminds us of our mission.
What happened to Irrational Games?
The Irrational Games studio was closed in 2014. However, you might have seen continued activity on the Irrational Games Facebook or Twitter accounts. These have remained active because many on our team were key contributing members to BioShock and love engaging with the fan community. That is separate from what we are working on today. We are a new team, working on a new game and we’d like our studio name to reflect that.
We know relatively little about Ghost Story's plans other than that its "maiden game" is currently in development. Given Levine's penchant for weighty narrative and tasteful melodrama, it seems fair to expect something that may not exactly be easy to wrap your head around. The studio appears to be hiring, so head to its careers page if you possess a particular set of skills.
