Viacom made headlines last month when it revealed that it was selling Harmonix, the accomplished developer behind the extremely successful Rock Band series and more recently, the Kinect exclusive Dance Central. Accordingly, this was related to slowing sales for the studios games.
Speculation mounted as gamers and industry analyst alike wondered who would be the smart publisher to acquire the veritable gold mine. Well, Harmonix has announced that they have gone indie and will continue to support their recently released titles. John Drake of public relations had this to say:
“We’re happy to confirm the news today that the sale of the company is complete. We appreciate all of your support, comments and warm wishes in the preceding few weeks. We’re excited to be returning to our roots as an independent and privately owned studio. As for what it means for you, the DLC schedule marches on for Rock Band, we will continue our support of previously released titles and we’re hard at work on some unannounced projects that we think you’re going to be pumped about.”
While one might be worried initially about the possible loss of the triple-A funding Harmonix was provided during its partnership, I think the developer will find equal, if not greater success in its future endeavors. I can't wait to see some of those unannounced projects they mentioned.