BioShock Infinite‘s next DLC offering, Burial at Sea – Episode 2, encourages players to step out of their comfort zone and rely solely on non-lethal tactics in 1998 mode. Avoiding mass murder in a BioShock game? That’s just … weird.

Irrational Games says 1998 mode was borne from the testing phase where developers were self-imposing non-lethal playthroughs; the titular date is a callback to the original Thief game (nice timing!) and places “a focus on balance and stealth mechanics,” says Ken Levine, creative director of Irrational Games. Burial at Sea – Episode 2 launches on March 25.

Irrational Games was severely downsized last week and Ken Levine, its current creative director, announced he was forming a new outfit within publisher Take-Two Interactive. Support from the gaming community at large quickly followed, in both the form of the “#IrrationalJobs” hashtag on Twitter and local Boston studio Fire Hose Games, which has offered free desk space for any affected developers looking to go the indie route.