Feb 23, 2010
It’s the age old story: a small, independent developer makes a game. The game rocks. Multinational corporation take notice and sniffs around. Multinational corporation buys ‘em out. The End.
Although, in this case, I very much hope that this doesn’t prove to be the end. Rocksteady – the British developer in question and the masterminds behind last year’s smash hit Batman: Arkham Asylum – have just been acquired by Warner Bros. And the good news is, in addition to the continued development of the highly-anticipated follow-up game, Rocksteady just may have the chance to work on “more great games based on widely recognized Warner Bros. brands like Batman” – at least, that’s according to Rocksteady studio director Jamie Walker.
What’s this to you? Good news? Bad news? Or are you indifferent?
It’s hard to say.
Arkham Asylum was probably the first true good Batman game in…what? 20 years? As such, this independent studio definitely deserves honors from Warner Bros.
Having more games set in the DC universe would be fantastic, as well as in other WB franchises (I bet Rocksteady could make a better Harry Potter game than EA).
However, everything is about money, and sometimes we have big guys purchasing smaller guys and then making things too businesslike, which can ruin creativity. I just hope that this means we’ll get the substance alongside the inevitable flash.