Following Gearbox’s sale to Take-Two Interactive for $460 million, reports of layoffs at the development studio began to circulate. The number of layoffs is unknown, but while it officially confirmed the same, Gearbox Entertainment told Eurogamer that they’re not “tied” to the development of its titles.
“Thank you for your thoughts and care for The Gearbox Entertainment Company as some reports of internal communication and actions are starting to flow through public channels,” it stated.
“As we strive towards our mission to entertain the world, we are grateful that our talent and capability are of interest to you and your audience. The Embracer Group will continue to report on their restructuring program that impacted some parts of Gearbox today that are not tied to the development of Gearbox Software games.” It seemingly suggests that the development teams are affected (or the projects aren’t facing any trouble).
“Thank you for granting us the space to remain focused on our people and in our handling of the situation with compassion and manage the process, balancing between our present duty and a commitment to our future.” Again, the extent of the layoffs is unknown. However, former PR manager Jennifer Locke said that she was among “countless others” laid off.
2K Games confirmed that Borderlands 4 is in active development (with rumors noting that the team’s leadership had seen some shake-ups). However, Gearbox has six games “in various stages of development”, per Take-Two, including a new IP. Five of these are sequels – aside from Homeworld 3 and the next Borderlands, that means there are three unannounced sequels in the works.
Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands 2 is rumored to be in the works, having reportedly undergone soft reboot. With Gearbox owning the Risk of Rain IP, perhaps it has something in mind for that as well. Stay tuned for more updates in the coming months.