There's more than just game announcements coming out of QuakeCon, as the parent company of Quake creators iD have announced their acquisition of Arkane Studios, the team best known for making Dark Messiah of Might and Magic as well as aiding in BioShock 2's development.
Co-directed by Harvey Smith, one of the leads on Deus Ex, Arkane made its debut in 2002 with the action-RPG Arx Fatalis, garnering critically acclaim out of the gate before moving onto even more well-received projects like BioShock 2 and Dark Messiah of Might and Magic. During its independent period, Arkane had one project that it wasn't able to see to completion due to 'an unexpected financial challenge'-- a first-person shooter called The Crossing.
As a part of Zenimax Media, Arkane will join two other teams well versed in first-person shooters and role-playing games -- Bethesda Game Studios and id Software. Arkane's other creative director, Raphael Colantonio, expressed his anticipation to join those ranks, stating "We couldn't think of a better publishing partner. We share so many creative values. Joining the ZeniMax family will allow us to grow stronger while staying true to the games we love."
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Source: Daily News from GamePro.com
Thursday, August 12, 2010