Senior level persons are 'very strongly rumoured' to be eyeing up rival publisher Take-Two for a possible all-out acquisition, namely to secure Rockstar.
It is after all Take-Two's strongest studio, however their top talent like the Houser brothers have their contracts expire in 2012. Its 'just rumour' for now.
"There are very strong rumours amongst people at a very senior level within the global business," a senior executive source spilled.
"But there're not much more than that at the moment – they are just rumours. And, of course, given Activision's news this week, everyone is now looking to see what their next move is. But you can definitely put two and two together and make four-ish."
Activision of course entered into the industry’s biggest merger with Blizzard, which has to date be incredibly successful for the publishing giant. With the recent decisions to axe the likes of Guitar Hero and freeze out other IPs, are they going to shop around?
You may remember that Take-Two a while back now rebuked attempts by EA to buyout the publishing outfit, and many gamers also turned their spite toward the proposal. Activision has been accused of literally bleeding IPs dry - have we screwed ourselves?
Unlikely, should a buyout proceed. Much like Blizzard, Rockstar Games is an authority unto itself. It decides when projects are released and doesn't bow to pressure from the higher ups, a saving grace for the Grand Theft Auto franchise for sure.
What would an Activision owned Grand Theft Auto world be like?
