‘Vast majority’ of Private Division staff reportedly laid off by Take-Two

Take-Two publishing label Private Division has reportedly laid off the “vast majority” of its teams in Seattle, New York, Las Vegas and Munich.

That’s according to GamesIndustry.biz, which received word of additional layoffs at Private Division following reports this week that the company is set to close internal development studios Roll 7 (Rollerdrome, OlliOlli World) and Intercept Games (Kerbal Space Program 2).

Established in 2017 to “publish games from top creative talent in the growing independent development landscape”, Private Division also has an office in Singapore, according to its website.

Its published titles include Panache Digital Games’ Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey, Obsidian’s The Outer Worlds, Piccolo Studio’s After Us, Die Gute Fabrik’s Saltsea Chronicles and Evening Star’s Penny’s Big Breakaway.

Private Division also recently launched Moon Studios’ No Rest for the Wicked in early access, and plans to release Wētā Workshop’s Tales of the Shire later this year.

It announced last May that it had signed a new action-adventure IP from Pokémon studio Game Freak, codenamed Project Bloom, which was expected to be released during Take-Two’s fiscal year ending in March 2026.

Last month, Take-Two said it planned to lay off 5% of its workforce, or around 600 people, as part of cost-cutting measures that would also result in the cancellation of unnamed game projects.

Commenting on reports of studio closures and layoffs this week, a Take-Two spokesperson said: “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 The Lord of the Rings Game in the second half of 2024.”