Take-Two Interactive Acquires Irrational Games

Gamasutra reports that rumor has it that Irrational Games has been acquired by Take 2 Interactive. Irrational has been working on the Unreal Engine powered BioShock, and the SWAT 4 expansion pack The Stetchkov Syndicate. Not too long ago Take 2 trademarked the name BioShock though it was never officially announced that Take 2 would be publishing the game. Gamasutra's story also mentions that the staff email announcing this news mentions a 2007 date for BioShock (a spiritual successor of sorts to the System Shock games). Update: an official announcement is now available.

2K Games has multiple titles in development at Irrational's North American and Australian studios. The first title to be published under the 2K Games label will be BioShock, a role-playing shooter for next-generation console systems and PC. Already anticipated by the gaming press as one of the most innovative next-generation titles, BioShock is planned for release in early 2007. "We are excited to be aligned with a publishing label like 2K Games that shares similar development goals and vision," said Ken Levine, co-founder and President of Irrational Games. "Fans will be blown away when they see the next-generation titles we are working on."