How the Grand Theft Auto publisher's indie label is dying a slow death behind the scenes.
In recent weeks, reports have surfaced that Take-Two is shuttering Kerbal Space Program 2 developer Intercept Games and OlliOlli World developer Roll7. Now, IGN has learned that not only are these closures imminent, but they are a part of a larger move by Take-Two to either sell …
A producer on Kerbal Space Program 2 has confirmed that those working on the space flight sim are being laid off en masse. We already knew that the developers at Intercept Games would be losing their jobs thanks to a closure announcement from Washington State. Until remarks from Strauss Zelnick, the CEO of Take-Two Interactive, muddied the waters. Zelnick refused to acknowledge that the studio was being closed when asked by a reporter, even going so far as to claim the opposite. "We didn't shutter those studios," he told IGN. But it seems clear from one producer's testimony that Zelnick's remarks are inaccurate.
Take-Two Interactive chief exexutive officer Strauss Zelnick has claimed the publisher has not shut down OlliOlli developer Roll7 and Kerbal Space Program 2 studio Intercept Games, despite reports and evidence to the contrary earlier this month.
Word of Intercept Games' demise - and the loss 70 jobs at the studio - came via a Washington state closure notice submitted by Take-Two itself, and was corroborated by affected employees on social media. Later, Bloomberg's Jason Schreier reported Roll7's closure after reviewing an internal email breaking the news to Take-Two staff.
It's somewhat surprising, then, that Take-Two Interactive boss Strauss Zelnick is claiming, in conversation with IGN's Rebekah Valentine, "We didn't shutter those studios."
But the publisher has no further updates on the status of either.
Earlier this month, Take-Two announced a cost reduction plan that included project cancellations, the layoffs of 5% of its workforce, and other spending cuts. Amid this announcement came reports based on internal documentation that seemed to confirm Take-Two was closing OlliOlli World developer Roll7 and Kerbal Space …
I was stunned this morning to read about the sudden closure of award-winning British studio Roll7 by parent company Take-Two, as I'm sure so many of you were. It hasn't been officially confirmed by either company yet but there are reports out there and people talking in all-but-confirmation tones on social media. It seems beyond doubt.
But it was barely a blink of an eye ago - November 2023 - when I was sitting with studio co-founder John Ribbins, and creative director Andreas Yiannikaris, to talk about 15 years of Roll7 and what was coming next. They were each excited about new games they were directing there, with Ribbins hopeful we'd learn more about his one this year. But those games, I expect, are now cancelled. To me at the time they looked as comfortable and content as anyone in game development could be. Belonging to a big company like Take-Two, via its publishing label Private Division, looked good on them.
It makes me cringe to think we even talked about the layoffs ravaging the games industry, which have evidently continued well into this year. I didn't put this quote in my piece but it's pertinent now: when asked about layoffs and whether they'd affected Roll7, Ribbins said, "I don't think anyone feels safe, but I feel very fortunate that we became part of the Take-Two family when we did, and also very fortunate that they still back what we want to do. Obviously there's stuff we're doing we can't really talk about at the moment, because it's early, but to be in a position where that is happening when lots of places around us are struggling - in a position to keep doing what we're doing with the people that were doing it with: we're really lucky to be in that position."
V polovině předešlého měsíce oznámila Take-Two Interactive škrty. Vydavatel Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption, Mafia, NBA 2K, Borderlands nebo Civilization hodlal propustit přibližně 600 zaměstnanců, což představuje 5 procent pracovní síly.
Úsporná opatření měla odnést zejména Private Division. Divize zaměřena na vývoj a vydávání nezávislých her má přijít o lidi v rámci marketingu a má dojít k zavření studia Intercept Games zodpovědné za Kerbal Space Program 2 a studia Roll7, kde vytvořili sérii OlliOlli.
O uzavření studií informuje agentura Bloomberg poté, co se internetem začaly nést zprávy o propouštění 70 lidí u tvůrců Kerbal Space Programu 2. Druhý díl stavby vesmírné lodi je nadále v předběžném přístupu a komunita se ptá, co bude s hrou dál (Steam, Reddit). Poslední aktualizace, verze 0.2.1.0, vyšla 4. 4. 2024. To je velmi daleko od finální verze.
V době zpráv o propouštění v Seattlu, kde sídlí Intercept Games, zveřejnila Take-Two prohlášení, že Kerbal Space Program 2 je v bezpečí a aktualizace budou pokračovat. Tomu teď, po několika hodinách, už moc lidí nevěří.
Kromě toho mělo dojít ke změně u nespecifikovaných projektů a několik rozpracovaných her mělo být zrušeno. Cílem je zefektivnit organizační strukturu a zaměřit se na tituly, které budou ziskové.
Last month, Take-Two announced it was “rationalizing its pipeline” by cutting hundreds of jobs and cancelling $140 million worth of in-development projects. Today, it moved ahead with shutting down the studios behind Kerbal Space Program 2 and OlliOlli World, Bloomberg reports.
Roll7, developers of bright skateboarding games OlliOlli World and dual-wielding bloodsport Rollerdrome, are being closed down as part of large scale layoffs by parent corp Take-Two Interactive, according to documents seen by Bloomberg. The British studio has been responsible for some great stuff over the years but the report says they'll be following the fate of Kerbal Space Program 2 developers in being laid off.
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