video games, 2K Boston, bioshock

2K Boston Loses Bioshock Franchise

Wade Roush 3/11/08

New York-based Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ: TTWO), in an analyst call following the release of its first-quarter results Monday, said that Bioshock 2, the sequel to its blockbuster 2007 video game Bioshock, will not be developed at Take-Two’s Boston outpost, 2K Boston, as the original was. That job will instead go to newly-created 2K Marin in Marin County, north of San Francisco, video game industry site Gamasutra is reporting. But 2K Boston manager Ken Levine may still be involved in the franchise, according to Take-Two CEO Ben Feder. While 2K Boston is busy working on a new title, Feder said, that is “not to say that Ken is not involved” in Bioshock 2, which is expected to be published at the end of 2009. The Boston Globe’s Hiawatha Bray apparently reached Levine, but writes that he had no comment on the announcement. Take-Two, meanwhile, is trying to fend off a takeover bid by Redwood City, CA-based video gaming giant Electronic Arts.