Phew! We can all breathe a sigh of relief. After six months of rumors and and anxiousness, Take Two Interactive will remain free from the clutches of the abominable Electronic Arts.

Electronic Arts is the publisher for popular games like The Sims, Command and Conquer, and the Need for Speed series. Although smaller, Take Two Interactive has published popular games like Bioshock, the Grand Theft Auto Series, and a series of sports video games by the developer 2K Sports. It is also interesting to note that 2K Sports is one of the direct competitors to EA Sports, a subsidiary of EA.

In February, EA announced that they were interested in purchasing Take Two Interactive for the meager sum of two billion dollars. Take Two entertained the offer for a few months until the board of directors came to the conclusion that it would not be in the best interests of the investors. However unsatisfying this ending maybe for this dramatic story, gamers are happy to see Take Two remain independent of EA.

Electronic Arts has been known for its takeovers. Starting in the 1990's, Electronic Arts has been acquiring studios like Maxis the maker of the Sims Series, and Ubisoft Entertainment and in recent years, EA purchased Bioware and Pandemic Studios, the makers of role playing games like Mass Effect and Knights of the Old Republic.

One of the biggest fears for gamers, is that the a larger corporation like EA would ruin beloved games like Grand Theft Auto, and the more recent Bioshock. While some say it is unclear whether EA would, the general consensus is that the larger corporations would either kill buyout their small acquisitions for their intellectual property (their ideas) or stifle the creative power that is usually found in smaller developers. One such example is Origin Studios in 1992. For the first few years, Origin Studios did well under the wing of Electronic Arts but in the later days of Origin, Electronic Arts ruled with an iron fist effectively choking the Origin Studios to death.

So after six months of hoping, waiting, gamers were rewarded with the news that Take Two Interactive would remain free and independent of the Evil Electronic Arts. It is a good day for gamers around the world.