BioWare, Pandemic Move in With EA
Independent developers independent no more as they slip into the massive folds of the megapublisher.
The end of the year is normally the time of year when publishers and developers really cash in. Not only are most of the big games released around the holiday season, but that's when people buy most of their games too. But this year, publishers are doing some buying of their own.
In the wake of Halo developer Bungie's split from Microsoft and the purchase by Activision of Bizarre Creations, the creators of Project Gotham Racing, comes news of yet another deal. This time it's the biggest company around, EA, which is doing the spending, buying both RPG giant BioWare and Mercenaries creator Pandemic.
According to a press release, EA is spending around $800 million buying VG Holdings, a company that controls both BioWare and Pandemic.
Former EA executive John Riccitiello said in a conference call on Thursday that picking up the two companies would help EA fill holes in its offerings, most obviously in the RPG genre.
What, if anything, does this mean for the two developers' biggest games? EA mentioned only some specifically that would be joining its ranks, including BioWare's Mass Effect and an unnamed MMO project and Mercenaries by Pandemic.
The biggest quesion mark surrounds Mass Effect, which is coming out later this year on Xbox 360.
In an interview with GameSpot, BioWare's Ray Myzuka said that the studio sees Microsoft, which is due to publish Mass Effect, as a long-tern partner. He praised the Xbox 360 and echoed his own earlier comments that BioWare is still eager to get all three games in the trilogy out during the lifetime of the Xbox 360.
Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo
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