2K Australia has confirmed recently that the Canberra-based development studio will be closing down for good.

The developer, who helmed the development of Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, has confirmed with Kotaku Australia that due to the costs of operating in Australia, the company will be closing its doors for good in order to improve the working proximity of its teams.

Despite Borderlands: the Pre-Sequel having received favorable praise from many gaming sites, including our own writer Jenna Fraser who described it as “an absolute must-have addition”, the publisher confirmed that it’s in the process of “reassignment opportunities” to the staff affected.

According to Kotaku Australia, 2K Australia was the only remaining triple-A operating in the country. Formed in 2000, 2K Australia was highly regarded for their works on the Bioshock series and third person shooter title, The Bureau.

Early on in the year, Gearbox made an announcement about looking into hiring more developers to work on their newest title Borderlands 3. Whilst the closure of 2K Australia is indeed sad news for us Aussies, we can only hope to see that these talented staff members are able to find some work on this upcoming sequel. We wish them all the best.

Jenna reviewed Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, finding it to be a solid, if safe, stopgap prior to a full sequel to the excellent Borderlands 2. “Some people have said The Pre-Sequel! is “just another Borderlands.” It’s then that I look at the Call of Duty franchise, shrug my shoulders, and smile,” she wrote in her Borderlands: the Pre-Sequel review. “The engaging story carries with it the deep customization levels and satisfies the loot-grinder in all of us, and the decidedly Australian hijinks are sure to delight.”