Take-Two will reportedly close the OlliOlli and Kerbal Space Program studios
Bloomberg reports that Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two Interactive will close two game studios as part of a recently announced plan to lay off 5% of its workforce.
The two studios are London-based Roll7, developer of the beloved OlliOlli skating games, and Intercept Games, a Seattle-based team formed by Take-Two to Kerbal Space Program 2.
Both studios were part of Take-Two’s boutique publishing label Private Division. It seems like Private Division is probably best known for publishing Obsidian Entertainment The outside worldswill be hit hard by the Take-Two layoffs. GamesIndustry.biz reports that the “vast majority” of Private Division personnel in Seattle, New York, Las Vegas and Munich have been laid off.
Roll7 broke through with old-school skateboarding OlliOlli in 2013. It was acquired by Private Division in 2021, prior to the release of OlliOlli World and competitive skater shooter Rollerdrome in 2022.
Intercept Games was founded in 2020 by Private Division to take over development Kerbal Space Program 2 from original developer Star Theory Games. Star Theory was subsequently closed. Reports that Intercept Games would follow suit began circulating Wednesday after Take-Two filed a notice in Washington state that it would close an office in Seattle, affecting 70 employees.
In a statement to GamesIndustry.biz and other media, Private Division did not confirm the closure of the studios, but said it will “continue to make updates to Kerbal Space Program 2,‘ which is currently in early access. It also pointed to the releases of No rest for the wicked and the upcoming fun Lord of the Rings game Stories of the Shire. It said Take-Two “provided no additional details” about its cost-cutting program other than to say it “rationalized the pipeline and eliminated several projects in development and streamlined its organizational structure.”
Second try announced its reorganization on April 16 and said it would cut 5% of its workforce, about 580 employees. The news came shortly after the publisher agreed to the purchase Borderlands Embracer’s studio Gearbox Entertainment for $480 million. The company is also preparing for the release of Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto6 by 2025.