Take-Two Interactive Software label Rockstar Games has purchased the Massachusetts-based game company Mad Doc Software, which worked with the developer on Bully: Scholarship Edition.
Mad Doc founder and former Activision technical director Dr. Ian Lane Davis will lead the new division, dubbed Rockstar New England.
Mad Doc is currently working on the Xbox 360 title Star Trek: Legacy for Bethesda and had developed or worked on a handful of other titles since its founding in 1999, including Empire Earth II, Dungeon Siege: Legends of Aranna and Spellweaver (still in development).
"The team at Mad Doc Software is extremely talented," said Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games. "Bringing them within the Rockstar Games family will enhance our core technology and further support our commitment to creating progressive and innovative gaming experiences."
A guest professor at M.I.T. with a doctorate in A.I. and robotics from Carnegie Mellon University, Davis is considered an expert in artificial intelligence and is currently writing a textbook on the subject.
"To be a part of Rockstar Games is an amazing opportunity for everyone here," Davis said. "We're eager to bring our expertise to bear in the character-driven, open-world stories that make Rockstar Games titles so uniquely compelling."
It's unclear what will become of Mad Doc titles currently in the works, and Rockstar did not release information about which of its upcoming games the new division will be working on.
source : www.ign.com
