"Some developers have chosen the path of selling to publishers and that's a viable path," [Pandemic co-founder Josh] Resnick told GameSpot. "We have specifically chosen not to go down that route because it was important for us to maintain our independence. You know we really look for inspiration in companies like Pixar, because they're able to remain independent from distribution partners and increase their focus on creating great products."
However, [BioWare co-founder Ray] Muzyka told GameSpot that the deal does not mean BioWare/Pandemic will abandoning its strong ties to its publishing partners. "They might feel threatened by something like this, but we absolutely see the reverse," he told GameSpot. "We really do look at this new venture as a means to improve our ability to deliver a great product--and that's always good for our publishing partners."

1UP has a Q&A about this deal.