BioShock 2 given another helping hand in Arkane Studios
by James Ransom-Wiley 
on Jul 10th 2009 11:15AM
Have you heard the one about
BioShock 2? You know: "How many devs does it take to screw up a
BioShock sequel?" We haven't come up with the punch line yet, but 2K Games seems to be increasing the odds of
something going wrong for
BioShock 2 by adding a fourth studio to the
company crowd of developers. Lyon-based Arkane Studios joins lead developer 2K Marin (in California), its collaborator 2K Australia (we repeat: Australia), and
multiplayer specialist Digital Extremes (headquartered in Ontario) in a cast that's starting to look like a "We Are the World" tribute to the late Mr. Jackson. We know, we know:
outsourcing and globalization are just signs of business as usual these days, but when you've got this many cooks in the kitchen, development could easily flip a wrong page to
the recipe for disaster.
"Arkane is assisting in the creation of levels that embody the aesthetic and gameplay ideals that make
BioShock such a unique and exciting experience," 2K Marin's Alyssa Finley explained, according to
Develop. Oh, well,
that's a relief. And here we were worried the plan was to recycle
unused assets from the first game.
