Take-Two lays off 5% of staff, cancels several projects

Despite previous assurances from the CEO

Take-Two Interactive, which has recently acquired Gearbox Software from the Embracer Group for $460 million USD, will lay off around 600 employees or 5% of its total workforce, according to a report by Reuters. Additionally, several in-development projects will be canceled, amounting to expected savings of about $165 million USD annually.

Like many other companies in the games industry, Take-Two is trying to trim fat wherever it can. What makes these layoffs so astounding is that two months ago CEO Strauss Zelnick claimed in an interview with IGN that the publisher had “no current plans” to make any layoffs as part of its cost-cutting program.

“We haven't put any meat on the bones of that yet. I would just note that our biggest line item of expense is actually marketing. We do think we can optimize that. We also have third-party expenses, software, other vendors, supply services. And we always find opportunity there. The hardest thing to do is to lay off colleagues, and we have no current plans,” Zelnick said at the time.

Take-Two publishes some of the biggest franchises in gaming, first and foremost Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto series. However, it’s also the home of 2K’s sports games, Private Division, mobile game developer Zynga, and now Gearbox and its Borderlands series.

Rockstar recently got criticized by the British IWGB Game Workers Union for rescinding its promises about letting people continue to work from home and forcing them to return to the office. It also hiked up the prices of its GTA+ subscription service just a few days ago.

Take-Two is currently fighting a lawsuit accusing it of unfair business practices, which revolves around its aggressive monetization policies in 2K’s sports games.