Irrational Games job ad lists 85+ Metacritic score as a requirement

BioShock Infinite developer Irrational Games recently posted a job listing for a design manager that requires their past work to have had an exceptionally high score on review aggregate site Metacritic.

The ad in question on the Gamasutra Job Boards noted under requirements "Credit on at least one game with an 85+ average Metacritic review score."

It's been known that Metacritic holds a lot of sway over publishers and can affect studio bonus payments if a certain score is not reached, as was the case with Fallout New Vegas, which fell one per cent shy of the 85 mark.

This is even more unusual because it's the developer using the much derided aggregate scoring system as a metric. Nevermind the fact that lots of very talented people work on games that end up not being that good for reasons far outside their control.

Besides Fallout New Vegas, other beloved games that fell short of the 85 mark are Bulletstorm (84), Vanquish (84), Child of Eden (84), Crackdown (83), Catherine (82), Mirror's Edge (81) and Metro 2033 (81).

Also notable about the ad is that it requires "a strong passion for and experience with first-person shooters." BioShock Infinite is certainly a first-person shooter, so could it be hiring another senior staffer this late into the game, or perhaps it's gearing up for another shooter to come?

We've reached out to Irrational for comment and are awaiting reply.