It looks like Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two is trying to get rid of its indie label, Private Division. This is according to a new IGN report that details how the company’s recent studio closures and mismanagement have been “quietly killing” the indie publisher.
According to IGN, the majority of Private Division staff were laid off at the end of April, leaving only a small team remaining to support already announced titles under the label such as Moon Studio’s Early Access game No Rest For The Wicked. The move comes after a string of reported closures of studios under the Private Division banner, including Kerbal Space Program 2 developer Intercept Games and Rollerdrome developer Roll7. While Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick claimed earlier this month, following a round of layoffs, that the company “didn’t shutter those studios,” IGN reports that Intercept is set to be closed officially on June 28 with Roll7 similarly winding down operations.
Sources talking to IGN accused Take-Two of mismanagement and specifically called out the company’s chief strategy officer and Private Division head Michael Worosz for poor leadership. “The whole layoff situation proved what we already felt,” one source said, “Take-Two could not care less about its employees.”
This series of events points to the larger issues that Private Division has been facing under Take-Two, which, IGN asserts, is now trying to get rid of the label entirely in one way or another. After the round of layoffs in April, Private Division staff were reportedly told that Take-Two would no longer be supporting the indie label. While this makes it sound like Private Division is on the brink of being shut down, Take-Two is reportedly looking to sell the indie label and the studios under it. IGN reports that Paradox Interactive, the publisher behind strategy games like Stellaris, was in talks to acquire Intercept but those have since fallen through.
As for Private Division itself, there has been some interest from a private equity firm. These conversations are reportedly being facilitated by people connected to Moon Studios. The studio was the subject of a 2022 report alleging an “oppressive” workplace. Sources talking to IGN said that everything in the report was “true and worse.” That connection has those at Private Division worried about the unclear future of the indie label.
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