Games

Rockstar Might Leave Take Two in 2009

The GTA franchise could become open for auction

By Calin Ciabai, Games Editor

7th of December 2007, 07:42 GMT

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GTA 4, one of the most wanted video games

After the recent Activision-Vivendi deal that probably scared a little the Electronic Arts empire, everybody wonders what moves is EA going to make in order to re-establish its top position. While everything is just a speculation, the fact that it comes from people who, supposedly, know what they're talking about, makes them worthy to look at. The same happens with the rumor that Rockstar might leave Take Two and wait for bids, most likely from Electronic Arts.

In an interview with Shacknews, analyst Michael Pachter said that it would be very possible for the Grand

Theft Auto franchise developer to leave their current company when the contract expires in February 2009.

"I don't think that this is an issue of dissatisfaction with Take-Two; rather, I think it is rational to believe that in the wake of the $850 million Pandemic/BioWare deal, high quality developers like Bungie and Rockstar North would look to test their market value," said Pachter. And they definitely have that market value!

With Rockstar having their hands on one of the most appreciated franchises, with GTA 3, Vice City and San Andreas in the top 20 console games of all the time (according to Wikipedia) and with Grand Theft Auto 4 already creating huge waves (check the newly released trailer and you'll understand why), it seems that the developer might be on the winning side if it comes to signing with a new company.

However, things are not as simple as they seem - some of the Rockstar main men might disagree with a split from Take Two and, if it would happen, anyway, they might just leave and let Rockstar have a game's name but nothing else (something similar happened a while ago with the Championship Manager franchise). And this, according to Pachter, would be enough to scare away the big companies interested in acquisitions: "An EA acquisition would not happen unless there was some assurance that the key employees at R* planned to stick around," he said. "That risk is enough to scare EA away."

But there's still a lot of time until 2009 and GTA 4 is closer than ever. It's a better thing to speculate upon.

TAGS:

Rockstar | Take Two | Grand Theft Auto 4 | GTA

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