Rockstar and 2K Games parent company Take-Two Interactive is enacting a severance plan for employees fired in the event of a corporate buyout, reports Reuters.

The severance plan will give executives up to 1.5 times their salary with bonus for up to 18 months if they are fired within a year of a change in corporate ownership and control. Non-executive employees will receive up to six months in salary.

Late last month, Electronic Arts proposed an acquisition of Take-Two at a price of $26 per share, or approximately $2 billion total. Take-Two summarily rejected the offer, suggesting that the bid was "highly opportunistic," and made in an attempt to take advantage of the upcoming April 29 release of Grand Theft Auto IV.

"The bid probably created fairly large internal disruption and without a severance plan, employees are worried about losing their jobs," said Janco Partners analyst Mike Hickey. "They want to keep people focused and give them some sort of support."

Update: Take-Two's board of directors has rejected Electronic Arts' proposal.

"After careful evaluation, the Board has determined that EA's proposal substantially undervalues Take-Two's robust and enviable stable of game franchises, exceptional creative talent and strong consumer loyalty," said the company. "We believe EA's unsolicited offer is highly opportunistic and is attempting to take advantage of our upcoming release of Grand Theft Auto IV, one of the most valuable and durable franchises in the industry."

"Electronic Arts’ proposal provides insufficient value to our shareholders and comes at absolutely the wrong time given the crucial initiatives underway," added executive Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick.

In what Zelnick calls the "only prudent and responsible" course of action, the board has decided to consider EA's proposal again on April 30, the day after Grand Theft Auto IV's release.

Original story: Publishing giant Electronic Arts last Tuesday proposed an acquisition of fellow publisher Take-Two at a price of $26 per share, or approximately $2 billion total.

Electronic Arts claims the proposal is more than fair, quoting the $26 share price as a 64 percent increase over Take-Two's recent stock value.

"There can be no certainty that in the future EA or any other buyer would pay the same high premium we are offering today," said EA CEO John Riccitiello.

The Take-Two umbrella includes the publishing labels 2K Sports, 2K Games, and Rockstar Games. Together the labels encompass such hit properties as Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto, BioShock 2K Boston's Bioshock, and Firaxis' Sid Meier's Civilization.

The potential acquisition would put sports studios 2K Sports and EA Sports under the same roof, possibly eliminating the already-waning balance of sports franchise competitiveness.

The proposal also reveals that Take-Two recently declined an offer of... Read more

ZeniMax Media, the parent company of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and Fallout 3 developer Bethesda Softworks, today announced the formation of its first European office, ZeniMax Europe.

The new branch will focus primarily on publishing titles within the European market under the Bethesda Softworks brand. Previous, ZeniMax had partnered with other companies, including Ubisoft and 2K Games, to publish its titles in Europe. However, ZeniMax noted its intent to continue working "with strategic European distribution partners."

"We want to establish direct relationships with retailers and distributors throughout Europe and the UK as we bring exciting titles like Fallout 3 and Rogue Warrior to gamers worldwide," said ZeniMax CEO Robert Altman. "This is an important step for us as we look to expand our presence in markets outside of North America."

Helmed by industry Sean Brennan, ZeniMax Europe is already up and running in its London office. One of its first publishing efforts will be Bethesda's post-apocalyptic action-RPG Fallout 3, which hits North America and Europe in PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 iterations this fall.

BioShock (PC, X360) publisher 2K Games will continue using Epic's Unreal Engine 3 technology in its future efforts, Epic announced today.

Details on the specific titles are slim, with Epic merely listing the projects as "unannounced." However, 2K president Christoph Hartmann praised UE3 for the ease at which it allows simultaneous PC and console development, suggesting that the games could hit PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

At least one of those titles is likely to be a sequel to the UE3-powered BioShock, as 2K owner Take-Two Interactive has expressed its interest in turning the underwater shooter into an ongoing franchise. Another title in the UFO-centric X-COM series has been rumored as well.

Last fall, job listings indicated that the next project out of 2K's Boston studio would utilize UE3. Formerly known as Irrational Games, 2K Boston and 2K Australia were the studios directly responsible for BioShock.

2K Games also recently announced the opening of 2K Marin, a new studio located at 2K's headquarters in Novato, California. No projects have been announced for the studio, though it reportedly consists of ex-BioShock staff.

Speaking on the recently cancelled Wii edition of Civilization Revolution, developer Firaxis has explained that the title was postponed due to issues with controller mapping and assets.

Elaborating on publisher 2K Games' terse statement issued last week, Firaxis programmer Scott Lewis said that the Wii version of the title required a complete overhaul of the game's interface and art assets created from the ground up.

Translating Civilization Revolution's control schemes to the waggle-centric Wii Remote was another sticking point. "The Wii version came online very late and we think that the audience would not be happy with a simple mapping of the 360/PS3 controls," Lewis told MTV Multiplayer. "We'd have to throw out all of our interface ... Read more

2K Games has released the first screenshots of Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution for the Nintendo DS, which depict turn-based strategy goodness along with Gandhi and ninjas.

Developed by Firaxis Games, the Civilization Revolution will be televised on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Nintendo DS this spring. Though previously announced, the Wii version has been placed on indefinite hold.

As any fan of the Civilization series knows, some of the most fun to be had is finding the perfect population to guide to ascendancy. Recently we asked you to create your own civilization, and here are the results.

A couple of the more interesting entries of note were those such as zombie survivors, the Mamalukes, and The Twelve Colonies of Kobol.

It was a bit more of a casual contest, and thus we're picking four winners randomly from everyone who submitted something. Therefore, give it up to flagg209, Degenerate, xsoulbrothax, and Hidden Key, as they will be receiving a BioShock t-shirt and Civilization: Revolution Xbox 360 faceplate, courtesy of 2K Games. Thanks to all the participants, and be sure to stick around here at Shacknews for more contests like this.

The Wii version of Firaxis Games' Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution has been delayed indefinitely, according to publisher 2K Games.

"Development for the Wii version of Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution is currently on hold," 2K Games told IGN. "We are focusing our attention on creating the best possible Civilization experience for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo DS platforms."

The first Civilization game built exclusively for consoles, Revolution is said to be the first Sid Meier-designed Civilization title since the original Sid Meier's Civilization (PC).

The hold up comes as little surprise, given that the Wii version was already slated to hit much later than the other versions. At the time of our E3 preview, the turn-based strategy game was expected to arrive on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Nintendo DS in the spring, with the now-uncertain Wii release trailing in the fall.

Sid Meier's Civilization is a long running PC classic currently being adapted for a new multiplatform style, and the progenitor of its own genre. One of the notable features of these games was picking your favorite civilization, be it for its leader, its cultural strengths, its special units, or just just the way they happen to talk. Well, we thought maybe we could have a little contest around here courtesy of a certain wonderful community manager over at 2K Games.

Shackers, tell us of your favorite real or fictional civilization. Give a short description of the civilization, who the leader is and their traits, and what is their favored military unit and building. You can see examples from Civilization 4 at CivFanatics. No more than a paragraph or two per element please.

Up for grabs will be a Civilization Revolution Xbox 360 faceplate and one of these BioShock t-shirts which we have both men's large and women's medium sizes. Four winners will be chosen randomly from the submissions, so no one should feel any intimidation by participating. Entries will be accepted until Monday, January 28th at midnight CST.

Shacknews has learned that multiple Unreal Engine 3 licensees have been served with subpoenas in an effort to obtain their confidential engine contracts for use as evidence in Silicon Knights' coming court battle with Epic Games.

The two companies became embroiled in a legal feud after Silicon Knights filed suit against Epic last July. As part of its lawsuit--the allegations of which include Fraud, Negligent Misrepresentation, and Breach of Contract--Silicon Knights demanded all profits from the Epic-developed blockbuster shooter Gears of War in the form of awarded damages.

The subpoenas mark the first time that developers other than Epic have been entangled in the dispute. Companies that have licensed Epic's Unreal Engine 3, and are potentially now involved in the suit, include Electronic Arts, 2K Games, Ubisoft, and the United States Army, among many others.

"I'm leaving the litigation to the lawyers but, if this is the case, I'd like to apologize to any of our licensees who Silicon Knights have inconvenienced," remarked Epic VP Rein when contacted today by Shacknews. "We know that, like us, they just... Read more

Take-Two Interactive Software, parent company of 2K Games and Rockstar Games, today announced that it has acquired Czech Republic based developer Illusion Softworks. The studio will join the 2K Games publishing label as 2K Czech.

Illusion Softworks is behind such games as Hidden & Dangerous, Mafia, and Vietcong, some of which were distributed by Take-Two's various publishing labels. The company is currently working on Mafia 2 for PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.

"We have an excellent working relationship with 2K Games and the utmost respect for them," said 2K Czech Petr Vochozka. "We are pleased to become a 2K studio and are confident that this new partnership will strengthen our current and future projects."

2K Games owner Take-Two Interactive has officially announced the creation of 2K Marin, a new development studio located at 2K's new headquarters in Novato, California.

Said to be creating original intellectual properties as well as assisting with other 2K projects, 2K Marin is reported to be made up of some ex-BioShock (PC, X360) staff. BioShock was developed at 2K's studios in Australia and Boston, a tag-team formerly known as Irrational Games.

"We're focused on continuing to bring new brands and cutting-edge gameplay to market with the creation of the 2K Marin studio," said 2K president Christoph Hartmann. "2K Marin will build upon our success in creating and leveraging AAA franchises."

Publisher 2K Games sends word that a few BioShock patches will be released next week, in addition to a free downloadable content pack for the hit game. (Update: It's here!)

2K community manager Elizabeth Tobey tells Shacknews that the DLC will at least include extra plasmids for players to mess around with, a way to disable Vita-Chambers for hardcore play, and bug fixes.

The patches will also address the game's field-of-vision perspective, following an intense bout of controversy over the way BioShock handles its widescreen display.

A title update to the Xbox 360 version will be released alongside the DLC, while the PC patch will come bundled with the content. Expect a patch list to be posted on The Cult of Rapture website when the downloads go live.

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts hosted the British Academy Video Games Awards 2007 today, and Nintendo's Wii pack-in compilation Wii Sports came home with the most metal, taking six of the ceremony's 15 awards.

The title was actually nominated for seven awards, losing only the Best Game honor to 2K Boston/2K Australia's underwater shooter BioShock (PC, X360). Although several unreleased titles had somehow made the list of nominees, none of these games came away with an award.

Both Clover Studio's artsy adventure title Okami (PS2) and SCE Santa Monica's brutal mythical action title God of War II (PS2) earned two awards each. Look below for the full list of winners or check out the dubious list of nominees.

• Action and Adventure - Crackdown (Realtime Worlds, Microsoft, X360)
• Artistic Achievement - Okami (Clover Studio, Capcom, PS2)
• Best Game - BioShock (2K Boston/2K Australia, 2K Games, PC, X360)
• Casual - Wii Sports (Nintendo, Wii)
• Gameplay - Wii Sports (Nintendo, Wii)
• Innovation - Wii Sports (Nintendo, Wii)
• Multiplayer - Wii Sports (Nintendo, Wii)
• Original Score - Okami (Clover Studio, Capcom, PS2)
• Sports - Okami Wii Sports (Nintendo, Wii)
• Strategy and Simulation - Wii Sports (Nintendo, Wii)
• Story and Character - God of War II (SCE Santa Monica, SCE, PS2)
• Technical Achievement - God of War II (SCE Santa Monica, SCE, PS2)
• Use of Audio - Crackdown (Realtime Worlds, Microsoft, X360)
• BAFTA Ones to Watch Award (Independent Dev) - Ragnarawk (Voodoo Boogy)
• The PC World Gamers Award (Public Voting Online) - Football Manager 2007 (Sports Interactive, Sega, PC)

NPD's U.S. sales figures for the month of September--the month of Bungie's Halo 3 launch--have arrived. Led by the highly anticipated title, total video game sales for the month reached $1.36 billion, a 74% year-over-year increase. Home console sales showed the most marked increase across the board, with $418.6 million in revenue, nearly three times more than the same month last year before the Wii and PlayStation 3 launches.

Both software and hardware sales were dominated by either Halo 3 or the game's platform, Xbox 360. Unsurprisingly taking the top spot for software, sales of all Halo 3 versions hit 3,256,082 units, bringing Microsoft approximately $225 million in revenue. Each version actually sold more on its own that any game in September, with the standard $59.99 edition's 2,367,795 leading, followed by the $69.99 collector's edition with 511,437, and the $129.99 Spartan helmet-including Legendary edition's 376,850 units sold.

No doubt spurred by Halo 3's launch, the 360 sold the most out of any hardware platform, with its 528,000 systems nearly doubling sales from a month prior. But even the Wii's second place at 501,000 consoles sold set a record... Read more

Following last night's announcement of the PlayStation 3's rumbling DualShock 3 controller--which arrives in Japan this fall, then North America and Europe next spring--SCEA has issued a lengthy list of all current and upcoming titles that will support vibration functionality in North America and Europe.

Particularly noteworthy games on the list include Kojima Productions' Metal Gear Solid 4, id Software's Rage, Epic Game's Unreal Tournament 3, Insomniac Games' Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, Sony Liverpool's WipEout Wipeout HD, Capcom's Resident Evil 5, Monolith's Condemned 2: Bloodshot, and Ubisoft Montreal's Assassin's Creed.

Already-released titles such as Evolution Studios' MotorStorm, Insomniac Games' Resistance: Fall of Man, Housemarque's Super Stardust HD, Ninja Theory's Heavenly Sword, and Incognito's Warhawk will be updated with rumble support through online patches. Those that will receive rumble functionality in this manner are marked with an asterisk (*) on the following list:... Read more

The 50th Gamers With Jobs podcast is up, co-hosted by 2K Games Boston's Ken Levine. As you'd expect, BioShock is among the topics discussed.

NPD gave Shacknews the North American software sales numbers for the month of August today, with the top two spots taken by the Xbox 360 version and PlayStation 2 version of EA Tiburon's Madden NFL 08. This reverses previous year trends, as the PlayStation 2 version of Madden NFL 07 outsold the Xbox 360 version by about 1 million units in 2006.

The 360 Madden stiff-armed its way to 896,600 homes during the game's first month at retail, a considerably higher amount than the 643,600 PS2 versions sold. Using Madden sales as a relative measure of console popularity, it would seem the mainstream move to current-gen consoles has arrived. This shift is seen further by the Xbox 360's 276,000 units shipped during August, beating out the last-gen PS2's 202,000.

Taking third place in software sales was the Xbox 360 version of 2K Boston/2K Australia's underwater shooter BioShock, selling 490,900 units... Read more

Update: Shacker sevogajre tells us that clearing the game's cache--accomplished by holding the left and right bumpers from boot until the appearance of the 2K Games logo--solves the stuttering issue in the Xbox 360 version.

Original Story: Like a bathysphere rising out of the depths, details have at long last surfaced on the mysterious BioShock title update that began prompting Xbox Live-connected players earlier this week.

According to publisher 2K Games, the brief download--which must be applied in order to stay signed into Xbox Live--resolves several slight issues. In particular, the update improves general game stability, especially when loading autosaves. It also tweaks the way enemies use health stations and fixes a slight audio glitch during menu loading.

However, it just wouldn't be a proper BioShock news item if it wasn't for the presence of unfortunate, and presumably unintended, technical... Read more

Need something to listen to as you wade through more BioShock news? 2K Games community manager Elizabeth Tobey alerts us that Garry Schyman's BioShock orchestral score is now available as a free download.

The 12-track compilation can be harvested on the Cult of Rapture website. Give it a listen, and let the sounds of Rapture slowly wash away the pain of SecuROM.