Take-Two, the renowned publisher of the GTA franchise, is implementing significant cost-saving measures by laying off hundreds of employees and discontinuing various projects. Despite the anticipation surrounding the upcoming release of GTA 6, Take-Two Interactive Software is restructuring its operations, as revealed in a recent SEC filing dated April 16th, reported by Eurogamer.
The company aims to downsize its workforce by five percent and terminate several ongoing projects to improve its financial position while still prioritizing growth. With approximately 11,000 employees, the planned five percent reduction is expected to affect around 550 staff members, resulting in annual cost savings of $165 million.
At present, the specific projects affected by these cuts within Take-Two’s development teams remain undisclosed. Besides Rockstar Games, Take-Two owns subsidiaries like 2K, which oversees Firaxis Games and Cloud Chamber, along with Ken Levine’s Ghost Story Games, currently engaged in developing a spiritual successor to BioShock titled Judas. Take-Two’s decision to streamline its pipeline, as stated in the filing, coincides with widespread layoffs, project cancellations, and studio closures across the troubled video game industry.
Take-Two laying off 550 people, weeks after saying it had “no current plans” to do so https://t.co/prf363MhXb pic.twitter.com/EvLeI1En7D
— Eurogamer (@eurogamer) April 17, 2024
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Interestingly, this move comes shortly after Take-Two’s CEO stated there were no immediate plans for layoffs, indicating a rapid shift in circumstances within a span of just two months in the dynamic game development landscape. Our thoughts are with those affected by these workforce reductions. GTA 6 is slated for release in 2025.
