Take-Two Interactive recently joined the ever-growing list of video game companies implementing layoffs, with the company announcing that it was cutting 5% of its workforce (roughly 600 jobs) as part of a wider cost-saving initiative that would also see projects being cancelled. Unfortunately, it seems one publishing label operating under the company has been hit the hardest.
Recent reports have confirmed that Private Division-owned studios Roll7 (OlliOlli, Rollerdrome) and Intercept Games (Kerbal Space Program 2) had both been shut down as part of Take-Two Interactive’s mass layoffs. A Bloomberg report claimed that Private Division itself had also been hit with job cuts, and that’s now being corroborated by GamesIndustry.
Allegedly, the “vast majority” of Private Division staff has been laid off in the company’s offices in Seattle, New York, Las Vegas, and Munich. What sort of an impact this has had on the company’s future plans for upcoming games is unclear.
Take-Two said in a statement: “On April 16th, Take-Two announced a cost reduction program to identify efficiencies across its business and to enhance the Company’s margin profile, while still investing for growth. As part of these efforts, the Company is rationalizing its pipeline and eliminating several projects in development and streamlining its organizational structure, which will eliminate headcount and reduce future hiring needs. The Company is not providing additional details on this program.
“On April 18th Private Division successfully launched Moon Studio’s No Rest for the Wicked. The label continues to make updates to Kerbal Space Program 2 and plans to release Wētā Workshop Game Studio’s Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game in the second half of 2024.”
In addition to the aforementioned No Rest for the Wicked and Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game, Private Division has multiple other unannounced projects currently in development with external partners, including Bloober Team and Game Freak.