Take-Two Interactive Software, parent company of Rockstar Games, 2K, Private Division, and now Gearbox Software, has announced it will cut 5% of its staff – around 600 employees – in a mass layoff initiated for cost-cutting. As part of these plans, Take-Two has also confirmed it will cancel a range of projects in development at its studios, although these have not been named.
The measures will reportedly save Take-Two around USD $165 million annually, although they will cost the company between USD $160-200 million this financial year. It’s believed the entire cost-cutting program, which includes office downsizing, will be completed by the end of 2024.
Take-Two likely plans to come back stronger in 2025, with this year heralding the launch of Grand Theft Auto 6 – likely to be one of Take-Two’s biggest ever releases, and one of the biggest game releases of the 2020s. While there are rumours the game will be delayed to 2026, this has not been confirmed publicly.
Read: Take-Two has purchased Gearbox from Embracer Group for US $460 million
Notably, the decision to lay off staff directly follows Take-Two’s acquisition of Gearbox Software. In late March 2024, Take-Two agreed to acquire the company from Embracer Group, for a total of USD $460 million. It’s unclear if this investment inspired the decision to cut staff and cancel game projects.
In announcing these layoffs, Take-Two has become just the latest game company to reduce its workforce, following a year of downturn. Gearbox recently initiated its own staff layoffs, and we’ve already seen companies including Microsoft, Sony, EA, Sega, Twitch, Discord, Activision Blizzard, and Visual Concepts laying off staff this year.
At this stage, we await more news from Take-Two as it deploys its planned cost-cutting measures. As always, our thoughts are with those impacted by the layoffs at Take-Two.
