REDWOOD CITY – Video game publisher Electronic Arts Inc. has again extended the deadline for its $2 billion tender offer to buy smaller rival Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.

The offer now is scheduled to end at 11:59 p.m. EDT on Aug. 18, an extension from this past Friday. EA said Monday it needed more time to allow regulators to continue their review.

EA previously announced that it was in “substantial compliance” with the Federal Trade Commission's request for information about its proposed buyout of Take-Two. Based on its agreement with the FTC, EA said in a regulatory filing it will not close any acquisition until at least Aug. 21 or the FTC closes the investigation – whichever is earlier.

EA is trying to buy Take-Two, best known for the popular “Grand Theft Auto” series of games, for $25.74 per share, or about $2 billion. Take-Two has repeatedly rejected the offer as too low.

In a statement responding to the deadline extension, Take-Two Chairman Strauss Zelnick urged Take-Two shareholders to resist the offer. CEO Ben Feder said strong sales of “Grand Theft Auto IV” and other developments “have further demonstrated that our value-creation potential is greater than EA's offer.”

The latest deadline extension is the fifth. The first extension came after Take-Two moved back the date of its annual shareholder meeting by a week. Since then, EA has cited the regulatory review.

In morning trading, shares of Electronic Arts rose 17 cents to $48.63, while Take-Two shares advanced 17 cents to $25.21.