Things are starting to look good for Take Two, as the game publisher has just announced that it has extended its partnership with Rockstar until 2012, and thus proves the analysts that have deemed the departure of the Grand Theft Auto developer from the company very wrong.

After an uncertain 2008, filled with rumors of a hostile takeover from Electronic Arts and financial troubles, it seems that the next twelve months will mark some very profitable releases for the company, as it has just announced its lineup for this financial year, which will be extended until the end of October 2009. Although quite a lot of publishers are playing their cards similarly these days, fans of franchises owned by Take Two will definitely have excellent games to look forward to.

The episodic content for Grand Theft Auto IV will be leading the way, with Lost and Damned being the only one announced of the two scheduled sequences marked for release on the Xbox 360. Moreover, in 2009 gamers will be able to enjoy the sequels to some very important franchises, which will return in all their glory, as BioShock and Mafia will both get new versions. Here's the full lineup of games that will be published by Take Two in the following financial year, and the platforms on which they will arrive, as provided by Videogamer:

BioShock 2, TBA;
Borderlands Xbox 360, PS3, PC;
Don King Boxing Wii, DS;
GTA Chinatown Wars DS;
GTA 4 The Last and Damned Xbox 360;
GTA 4 Episodic Content Xbox 360;
Maffia II Xbox 360, PS3, PC;
MLB 2K9 Multiple;
MC LA DLC South Central Xbox 360, PS3;
MLB Front Office Manager Xbox 360, PS3, PC;
NBA 2K10 Multiple;
NHL 2K10 Multiple.

This announcement was furthermore polished off by Ben Feder, the CEO of Take Two, who said that “We're excited about our 2009 pipeline, which will include the introduction of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars on the Nintendo DS, episodic content for Grand Theft Auto IV on the Xbox 360, and downloadable content for Midnight Club: Los Angeles, as well as new offerings from such powerful franchises as BioShock, Mafia, and the 2K Sports roster.”

All in all, it does seem that the publisher will have a very profitable 2009 and every gamer must be very excited about this lineup of games.