Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter has gone on record to suggest that Grand Theft Auto developer Rockstar North may split from its parent company, Take-Two Interactive, some time in 2009.
Pachter claims that subsidiary Rockstar Games, owned by Sam and Dan Houser, currently have a contract with Take-Two which expires in February 2009; this combined with the recent decision by Bungie to split from Microsoft, he says, is likely to prompt the Housers to evaluate the firm’s value on the market.
"I don’t think that this is an issue of dissatisfaction with Take-Two; rather, I think it is rational to believe that in the wake of the $850 million Pandemic/BioWare deal, high quality developers like Bungie and [Rockstar] North would look to test their market value," said Pachter, during an interview with Shacknews.
He then added that the Housers still remain close to a number of members on the Rockstar North development and management team, including Les Benzies, who is part of the latter and also servers as director on the Grand Theft Auto titles.
Rockstar North’s latest entry in the series, GTA IV, is currently scheduled for release on PlayStation and Xbox 360 in 2008.
Source: Shacknews