Warner Bros. Acquires Batman Developer Rocksteady Studios

12 Comments

Posted February 23, 2010 - By Jake Gaskill

Warner Bros. Game Studios Hit With Layoffs Warner Bros. is now the proud majority shareholder of Batman: Arkham Aslum developer Rocksteady Studios.

The mega publisher called the acquisition, "a great strategic fit," with Warner Bros. UK president and managing director Josh Berger adding, "Rocksteady clearly has the talent, expertise and technology to make great games and we are fortunate to continue working closely with them as we further expand our games portfolio."

Rocksteady games director Sefton Hill said of the partnership, "The Rocksteady team is very much looking forward to creating more great games based on widely recognized Warner Bros. brands like Batman."

And how. Rocksteady is currently developing Batman: Arkham Asylum 2. This marks the third major acquisition for Warner Bros. in the gaming sector over the past few years. The publisher purchased LEGO Star Wars developer TT Games back in 2007, as well as Snowblind Studios and Midway Chicago (Mortal Kombat) in 2009.

Arkham Asylum publisher Eidos told GamesIndustry.biz that it will maintain a 25 percent stake in Rocksteady, and "will continue to be represented on the board of directors of the company."

Tags: PlayStation 3, Videogames

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verge109

I just hope that Warner don't ruin this awesome game with lame characters like that Robin.
I really hope that they do not interfere with the game and let the developers work based on their ideas inteady of Warner's...
When I first saw the first game I simply loved it because they translated Batman's universe into the game like no one else could do in a long time,..Batman has always been a much more interesting character when portrayed alone...well, at least in my opnion.
I hope they don't screw with this one.

Posted: April 18, 2010 9:08 PM | Reply | Report

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V_Translanka

It would be nice if Green Lantern or the Flash could eventually get decent games as well...I would say Superman, but what's the point...?

Posted: February 24, 2010 7:31 PM | Reply | Report

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KaoNoshi

I hope this doesn't mean that WB is going to have Rocksteady working on a bunch of really bad movie-to-game adaptations.

Posted: February 24, 2010 12:40 PM | Reply | Report

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jedimasterchief9

hopefully, they can use their magic on more dc games.

Posted: February 23, 2010 3:15 PM | Reply | Report

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krypto74

After I'd heard WB was planning on going it alone for AA2 I panicked. Now I'm only half panicking, as I see they at least bought the best. Lets hope that the old "executive suggestions" problem doesn't destroy the magic. I'm having Gene Roddenberry interviews playing in the back of my head.

Posted: February 23, 2010 1:38 PM | Reply | Report

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osubluejacket

Although I have not played Arkham Asylum (at least not yet), I hear nothing but excellent things and look forward to playing it (most likely this summer).

I just hope that Warner Brothers doesn't try to put cooks in Rocksteady's kitchen. If movie studio execs try to squeeze "input" in to a game that developers poured their time, creativity, and innovation into, it could spell doom for a franchise that was (by all accounts) just recovered from the scrap heap.

Posted: February 23, 2010 1:31 PM | Reply | Report

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DreamingDarklyRobin

Arkham was probably my favorite game of last year (even though I played it this year).

Posted: February 23, 2010 12:51 PM | Reply | Report

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MaelStrom_

arkham asylum was my favorite game last year. WB don't mess it up!

Posted: February 23, 2010 12:21 PM | Reply | Report

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RandyMercer

Well This is to be expected, not really surprised.

Posted: February 23, 2010 12:19 PM | Reply | Report

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meh_siah

This probably means instead of game based on an original story, after AA2, we'll get movie tie-ins. I hope I'm wrong about that. I like different Bat universes on different media.

Posted: February 23, 2010 12:18 PM | Reply | Report

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Infinius

Since Eidos is now owned by SquareEnix, What kind of potential future projects will we see come out of this. Maybe a Final Fantasy movie that doesn't feel like the last couple hours of a 40 hour game? Perhaps some fun easter eggs in WB films from video game culture. I am very excited by this news.

Posted: February 23, 2010 11:42 AM | Reply | Report

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greeknerd

I'm ok with this news as long as Warner Bros. won't make Rocksteady add the horrid bat-nipples in the next Arkham Asylum. I still can't forgive the costumes in "Batman: Forever" and "Batman in Robin". Then again, I still can't forgive those movies for any thing they did.

Posted: February 23, 2010 11:24 AM | Reply | Report

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