Irrational Games co-founder, Ken Levine, has been doing some rounds of interviews to various game websites to explain how the Take Two acquisition of Irrational Games came to be, and what it means for the future for Irrational Games (including a tiny tidbit on the Australian Studio)...
"IGN: Is there concern that joining a large publisher like Take Two will stifle or compromise Irrational creatively?Ken Levine: Since the acquisition, I think they've been to our studio once. And once you hear more about BioShock and the other title, I think the last thing you'll worry about is us being creatively compromised."
"BIZ: What does this deal mean for the future of Irrational?KL: I'll put it this way: since the acquisition, we've roughly doubled the size of the BioShock team. It's nice to have a Sugar Daddy in your corner. 2K believes in Irrational Games and BioShock, as well as the other title we have in development at our Australian studio."
"It wasn?t so much of a need as the right deal and the right partner and the right time. I think given the economies of developing, we would have ended up working with other developers like BioWare and Pandemic, as we?ve got nothing but respect for what those guys are doing. But 2K offered us all the freedom of being independent"
well i wisht them luck. look forward to Bioshock too, being a huge fan of the System Shock series
Definately wish you guys the best. One thing tho, if you're now hiring a whole load of new people then someone will have to pay for it somewhere. Eventually the bean counters will add it all up and profits are what its all about at the end of the day. Remember the publisher isn't a "Sugar Daddy" they are in this to make money! Respect them and their concerns and they might look after yours.