Take-Two Interactive recently announced that it was laying off 5 percent of its staff as part of a wider cost-saving initiative, and it seems like those cuts are also going to entail the shuttering of an entire studio- specifically, Intercept Games, the team behind Kerbal Space Program 2.
A former Intercept Games developer recently confirmed on Twitter that he had been laid off by the studio, while others – such as associate producer Grace Tuohey-Kay and community manager Dakota Callahan – have listed themselves as being “open for work” on their LinkedIn profiles.
Though Intercept Games or publisher Private Division, which is a Take-Two Interactive label, have yet to officially announce layoffs or closures at the studio, a Washington State WARN Notice (which companies are legally required to issue 60 days prior to initiating mass layoffs, as per the WARN Act) confirms that Take-Two has closed a studio based in Seattle, cutting 70 jobs. Intercept Games is the only studio owned by the company across all of its publishing labels that is based in Seattle.
Intercept Games was officially established in 2020 to work on Kerbal Space Program 2, with publisher Private Division deciding to move development away from Star Theory Games, the team that developed the original Kerbal Space Program. Shortly after Intercept Games was officially unveiled, however, reports claimed that Take-Two Interactive had poached large number of staff from Star Theory Games, causing the studio’s shuttering amidst ongoing development on Kerbal Space Program 2.
Kerbal Space Program 2 itself was announced back in 2019, following which the game would go on to be delayed numerous times. It finally launched for PC in February last year, though only as an early access title, and has seen divided reception from players since then. Currently, it sits at Mixed user score rating on Steam, with only 57 percent of nearly 18,000 user reviews on the platform to date being positive.
What Intercept Games’ reported closure will mean for Kerbal Space Program 2 remains to be seen. Stay tuned for official information from Take-Two Interactive.