Tag: Take-Two
News Take-Two CEO Says Borderlands Movie Bombing 'Didn't Hurt at All'
Like water off a duck's back
When the Borderlands movie bombed on the world stage, it barely managed to scrape back its marketing budget, let alone what was spent securing the likes of Cate Blanchett and Jack Black. But Take-Two Interactive ZEO, Strauss Zelnick, doesn't think it did lasting damage to the video game franchise from which it was...
News Take-Two Has Sold Its Private Division Subsidiary to an Unnamed Buyer
New owner to be announced in due course
Indie games publisher Private Division is no longer part of Take-Two, as it’s been sold to an undisclosed buyer. Strauss Zelnick, the firm’s head honcho, told GamesIndustry.biz that the new owner will be disclosed soon. The sale, according to the exec, will allow the firm to focus on larger projects...
News GTA 6 Won't Be on Subs Like PS Plus at Launch Because Take-Two Makes 'Rational' Decisions
Zelnick doesn't think much to the model
Microsoft has changed consumer’s perceptions on Xbox Series X|S. By committing all first-party games to its Game Pass Ultimate membership, including the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, it’s cultivated an audience less likely to pay full-price for new games. This has affected software sales on its...
News GTA Publisher Claims It 'Didn't Shutter' Roll7, Intercept Games
"We didn't shutter those studios"
Take-Two, the publisher behind Grand Theft Auto and owner of other labels such as Private Division, has denied reports it recently shut down Rollerdrome, OlliOlli developer Roll7 and Kerbal Space Program 2 team Intercept Games. Having been questioned by IGN during a financial call today, CEO Strauss Zelnick...
News OlliOlli, Kerbal Space Program Teams Shut Down by GTA Publisher
Roll7 and Intercept Games shuttered
Take-Two will shut down OlliOlli World and Rollerdrome studio Roll7 as well as Kerbal Space Program team Intercept Games as it looks to cut five per cent of its workforce. The news was revealed by
News GTA Publisher Laying Off 5% of Workforce and Cancelling 'Several' Games
Around 600 people will lose their jobs
Grand Theft Auto owner Take-Two has announced it's laying off around five per cent of its more than 11,500-employee-strong workforce in an effort to save $165 million annually. Around 600 full-time workers will be affected by the layoffs, and some unannounced games within the publisher are to be cancelled as a...
News Take-Two Will Acquire Borderlands Dev Gearbox Entertainment
$460 million deal makes sense
Take-Two has announced plans to acquire Gearbox Entertainment from the embattled Embracer Group, in a deal reported to be worth $460 million. The buyout makes logical sense, as Gearbox Entertainment will operate under the framework of 2K Games, which has long been the publisher of the popular Borderlands series. It’ll...
News GTA Publisher Lays Out Complex Entertainment Per-Hour Pricing Algorithm
How much is your hype worth?
Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick has expressed his stance on how entertainment, specifically video games, should be priced, a contentious topic at the best of times. According to the executive's philosophy, this can be calculated by a seemingly simple algorithm, though its nebulous nature makes its efficacy...
News AI Could Make Grand Theft Auto NPCs 'Really Interesting and Fun', Says Take-Two CEO
Traditional scripted NPCs "not very interesting"
Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick has apparently sided with the machines in the ongoing AI debate currently consuming the entertainment industry. He thinks the innovative new technology could improve the next Grand Theft Auto by adding more variety to dialogue trees to entice lapsed players back...
News Mid-Generation Upgrades Like PS5 Pro 'Aren't All That Meaningful', Says Take-Two CEO
Overkill?
Mid-generation hardware upgrades are relatively new territory for console players, and it remains to be seen how much of a splash the still formally unannounced PS5 Pro will make whenever it emerges. Sony's putting up some impressive numbers with PS5 (41.7 million and rising), but not everyone is expecting a mid-gen refresh to set the...
News $50 for Red Dead Redemption PS4 Port 'Commercially Accurate', Says Publisher Take-Two
Perhaps, but for who?
Take-Two Interactive is a publishing parent company on a monolithic scale, with assets in excess of $15 billion USD. It owns two major publishing labels itself, Rockstar Games and 2K, and brought in a net income (after covering all operating expenses) of more than $1 billion in 2023 alone. It should come as no surprise, then,...
News Publisher Take-Two Claims It's 'Not Seeing Pushback' From Players on $70 Price Tag
Can't be looking too hard
Publisher Take-Two claims that it isn't seeing much pushback from players to the $70 price tag many AAA video games are increasingly found wearing at launch. This tells us, at the very least, that they must not be checking the Push Square comments section of related articles! In an earnings call (transcribed by
News Take-Two to Ship 16 Games in Coming Fiscal Year, Including 'New IP' from 'Premier Studio'
All of the games
Take-Two appears to have some mighty big ambitions, with 16 games planned for release over the fiscal year to come, including "new IP" from a "premier studio". Tantalising! In a press release, the company revealed its intentions, which include releasing three "immersive core" games. This includes inevitable cash cows NBA 2K24 and...
News Take-Two Says Layoffs Necessary for 'Another Extended Period of Success'
"We have experienced exponential growth in recent years"
Take-Two, the publisher of Grand Theft Auto, Borderlands and many other well-known gaming franchises, has confirmed the reports of layoffs taking place at the company, stating that "we are taking these necessary steps to position the company for another extended period of success." Take-Two...
News PS Plus, Xbox Game Pass Aren't Big Enough to Impact Business, Says Take-Two Boss
Not yet, anyway
Gaming subscription services like PS Plus and Xbox Game Pass have almost certainly had an impact on how we in the hardcore sphere perceive the value of video games — but they're yet to have a truly significant impact on how big publishers do business. At least, that's what Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has to say on the matter. The...
News Red Dead Redemption 2 Has Sold 50 Million Copies, But We Still Can't Get a PS5 Patch
Together we ride
Publisher Take-Two has just posted its quarterly financials, and would you believe it, Red Dead Redemption 2 is still selling. The open world title is over four years old now, and while it doesn't quite compare to the frankly obscene sales numbers of Grand Theft Auto V, it recently managed to break through a ridiculous 50 million...
News Next Game from Outriders, Bulletstorm Dev Loses Publisher, But Work Continues
People Can Fly now expects to self-publish
Bulletstorm and Outriders developer People Can Fly has today confirmed publisher Take-Two intends to "terminate the development and publishing agreement" for its next game, which is codenamed Project Dagger. In a post on the team's official website, the game is described as a "new action-adventure IP" and...
News Take-Two Boss Believes New PS Plus Is the Right Approach to Subscriptions
"We can't afford to turn our business upside down"
Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick is on board with Sony’s approach to its revamped PS Plus, reiterating that he believes subscriptions are better off focusing on catalogues rather than day one releases, because “we can't afford to turn our business upside down in a way that doesn't make sense...
News Red Dead Online Not Abandoned, Take-Two Boss Says He's 'Heard the Frustration'
#SaveRedDeadOnline
It's no secret that Red Dead Online hasn't received nearly as much love and attention as GTA Online. That's the main reason for player frustration with Red Dead Redemption 2's multiplayer offering — looking over the fence at GTA 5, it's clear Rockstar could have turned the Western shooter into a seriously engaging online space...
News GTA 5 on PS5 Sells Even Better Than Expected
Tiny Tina, WWE also do well
Grand Theft Auto V is such a big sales juggernaut that it's now even outpacing the sales estimates of publisher Take-Two. Relating to the new current-gen version (PS5 and Xbox Series X|S) specifically, EVP of finance Hannah Sage told GamesIndustry.biz it "exceeded expectations". However, the site also notes that overall,...
News GTA Publisher Acquires Mobile Giant Zynga for $12.7 Billion
To help company's mobile efforts
Take-Two, the publisher of blockbuster titles like Grant Theft Auto, Borderlands, and BioShock, has today announced its acquisition of mobile company Zynga for $12.7 billion. A giant in the business, the California-based developer is known for the likes of FarmVille and
News Publisher Take-Two Forces It Takes Two Dev Hazelight to Abandon Title Trademark
You've been tango'd
Hazelight, developer of It Takes Two, has had to abandon ownership of the game's title trademark in a dispute with publisher Take-Two. The studio was hit with a claim by the publisher shortly after the co-op title's release earlier this year, according to a report from Eurogamer. Obviously there are similarities between the two...
News OlliOlli Dev Picked Up by Take-Two
In good company
OlliOlli developer Roll7 has been acquired by Take-Two, the company that also owns Rockstar Games and 2K. The team will now fall under the Private Division publishing label, which was already planning to put out its next game OlliOlli World prior to the purchase. That's now slated to launch early next year on PlayStation 5 and PS4 in...
News Take-Two Scraps Hangar 13 Game, Writes Off $53 Million
Like taking candy from a baby
A new project by Mafia developer Hangar 13 has been shelved by Take-Two, with the organisation writing off $53 million as a result. The release, codenamed Volt, has been in production since 2017, according to Bloomberg, and has apparently gone through “multiple iterations since it was first conceived”. According to...
News Take-Two Has a Trio of Unannounced Ports or Remasters in the Pipeline
More re-releases on the way
Take-Two, the organisation in charge of labels like Rockstar and 2K Games, has already announced a couple of next-gen conversions: Grand Theft Auto 5 and Kerbal Space Program being the duo. However, as part of an investor relations report, it’s quietly confirmed that it has three more “new iterations of previously...
News Take-Two Boss Believes Players Were 'Ready' for $70 Games
Wants to ensure "consumers feel like we deliver much more than we ask"
The fierce debate regarding the price of games rumbles on, driven almost exclusively by Returnal right now. Housemarque’s upcoming PlayStation 5 exclusive roguelike is bringing a bunch of interesting ideas to the table, but discourse surrounding the game is pointed at its...
News Tales from the Borderlands Returns to PlayStation Store Today, Backwards Compatible on PS5
No enhanced version, though
A few weeks ago, it was discovered that PEGI — the European ratings board for games — listed a PlayStation 5 release of Tales from the Borderlands. Fans were left wondering if that meant a souped-up PS5 port was coming, but at least for now, it seems that's not the case. However, publisher 2K has announced the beloved...
News Tales from the Borderlands Seemingly Getting PS5 Release
Rated in Europe
Tales from the Borderlands is an interesting project. Developer Telltale Games took a franchise primarily focused on action and extracted an entertaining story, told across five episodes. Right now, it appears to be unavailable on PlayStation Store, but it looks like it'll be coming back in some form on PlayStation 5. PEGI, the...
News EA Primed to Purchase Codemasters as Take-Two Withdraws Offer
Need for even more speed
Just before the end of 2020, a bidding war began for Codemasters, the big, racing-focused publisher and developer. Take-Two Interactive put in an offer to acquire the company, but a few weeks later, Electronic Arts made a significantly larger bid. Now, it looks like the latter has strong-armed the former out of the deal...
News Looks Like Codemasters Will Be Acquired by Take-Two
Deal to go through early next year
We knew that talks were taking place between Codemasters and Take-Two, but now it looks like the acquisition will be going through. According to a VGC report, the DIRT 5 developer has reached an agreement with the 2K Games parent, and will be acquired early next year in a deal valued at around £750 million ($98
News Codemasters in Talks with Take-Two Over Takeover
F1 2K21?
Codemasters, the legendary British publisher behind the recently released DIRT 5, has confirmed that it’s in talks with Take-Two over a possible takeover. Video Games Chronicle reports that an internal statement revealed conversations were taking place between the firm and 2K Games’ parent company. The figure currently being thrown...
News Grand Theft Auto V Has Now Shipped an Incredible 130 Million Copies
Updated Take-Two figures
You know how it is. Wake up one morning and casually announce that as the publisher of Grand Theft Auto V, you've shipped 130 million copies of the game across the world like it's nothing. That's the swagger of Take-Two and Rockstar Games as the twosome reveal that the most profitable entertainment product of all time keeps...
News The Outer Worlds Sales Have 'Exceeded Expectations', Seems to Be a Hit
Out there
The Outer Worlds appears to have done very well for itself, if publisher Take-Two's most recent statements are to be taken at face value. During the company's latest financial call, the role-playing game was described as a "critical and commercial success". Take-Two president Karl Slatoff said that Obsidian's sci-fi title is "exceeding...
Good news for Rockstar
Aside from the rocky PC release of Red Dead Redemption 2, we imagine that it's all smiles across Rockstar's multiple studios today. During its most recent financial briefing, parent company Take-Two has revealed that the developer's open world blockbusters -- Red Dead 2 and Grand Theft Auto V -- continue to be sales...
News Borderlands 3 Boycotted by Fans Following Take-Two Investigation into Leaks
YouTuber visited by private investigators
This one's a bit scrappy, so bear with us. A Borderlands YouTuber known as SupMatto has gotten himself into trouble after sharing certain information about the upcoming sequel. The creator says a couple of Take-Two private investigators arrived at his home and questioned him about the Borderlands 3 leaks...
News Red Dead Redemption 2 Ships a Crazy 23 Million Copies
Yeehaw
We all knew that Red Dead Redemption 2 was going to be a colossal hit, but even Take-Two, Rockstar's parent company, didn't expect it to do as well as it has. The open world epic has shipped a rather staggering 23 million copies since it launched in October last year, the kind of number that we expect from only the biggest of gaming...
News Red Dead Redemption 2 Ships a Staggering 17 Million Units in Eight Days
More than the original shipped in its life
Red Dead Redemption 2 is set to be an absolute monster, as expected. Rockstar parent company Take-Two has revealed that the game, which launched just under two weeks ago, has sold-in 17 million units. To be clear, 'sold-in' refers to the amount of copies shipped to retailers, not the amount of copies sold...
Rumour Was Red Dead Redemption 2 at E3 2018 After All?
Behind saloon doors
Many were left disappointed at the lack of Red Dead Redemption 2 at this year's E3. Rockstar isn't normally in the habit of attending the Los Angeles event, so it's typical we didn't see anything new during the show. However, one or two reports are coming out that the open world Western was, in fact, present, and not only that,...
News Rockstar Details Red Dead Redemption 2 Special Editions and Pre-Order Bonuses
Daylight robbery
As we've come to expect from all major gaming releases, Red Dead Redemption 2 has plenty of bonuses and options to consider when you're laying down your pre-order. Rockstar has just published a post on its website detailing each version of the game, and what each box will contain. Firstly, all pre-orders will gain access to the War...
News Borderlands: Game of the Year Edition Rated for PS4 in Korea
Ain't no rest for the wicked
The Korean Ratings Board has, once again, rated a PS4 game that has yet to be announced. This time, it's Borderlands: Game of the Year Edition, presumably a remaster of the original game in Gearbox's popular shooter series. We already have Borderlands: The Handsome Collection on PS4, which includes Borderlands 2 and
News Red Dead Redemption 2 Company Confident of No More Delays
Red or dead
Those of you who have been keeping up with Red Dead Redemption 2 will know that it was originally scheduled to launch in July of this year, but it was pushed into October back in February. Fortunately, parent company Take-Two seems wholly confident that another delay won't occur. Speaking to business network CNBC, Take-Two CEO Strauss...
News Grand Theft Auto V Has Made More Money Than any Other Entertainment Product Ever
Crime does pay
We already know that Rockstar's mega-hit crime-'em-up, Grand Theft Auto V, is the best selling game of all time, but a new report from MarketWatch reveals that it's comfortably the most profitable game ever. In fact, it's made more cash than any film, album, or other entertainment product in history. Across all p
News Red Dead Redemption 2 Release Date Confirmed, Delayed to Fall
Saddle up
Rockstar has just confirmed the release date for its latest Western epic, Red Dead Redemption 2. Delayed from its "Spring 2018" release window, the game will now launch on 26th October 2018. In a short press release on its website, Rockstar says, "We apologize to everyone disappointed by this delay. While we had hoped to have the game out...
Rumour Red Dead Redemption 2 Rides Onto PS4 in July
Allegedly
Amazon Mexico has added a release date to its product page for Rockstar's upcoming Old West adventure, Red Dead Redemption 2. The site claims the game will be released on 12th July 2018, which pushes it outside of its official launch window of "Spring 2018". Other Amazon sites don't feature this new date, so whether this is simply a shot...
News Grand Theft Auto V Is Officially the Best Selling Game Ever
Finally beats out Wii Sports
At the rate that Grand Theft Auto V still sells, this news was inevitable. Rockstar's open world tale of crime and crazies is now the best selling game of all time, moving 85 million copies both physically and digitally. In other words, the title has finally leapfrogged Wii Sports, which sits at around 83 million...
News Publisher Take-Two Doesn't Expect Red Dead Redemption 2 to Equal Grand Theft Auto V
Who does?
Grand Theft Auto V has been an outrageous success for Take-Two. Since it launched on last generation consoles back in 2013, the open world romp has shifted around 80 million copies, which is frankly insane. Naturally, the company has high expectations for developer Rockstar's next product, Red Dead Redemption 2, but does it think that...
News Red Dead Redemption 2 Release Date 'Doesn't Matter' Says Publisher
It's still gonna sell
Red Dead Redemption 2 has been delayed into 2018. A bit of a shame to be sure, but the release date alteration doesn't mean jack sh*t according to Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick. Speaking during the publisher's latest earnings call, the CEO was asked whether he expects the sequel to perform better or worse now that...
News Grand Theft Auto V Has Shipped an Absolutely Insane 80 Million Copies
Digital sales included
We all knew Grand Theft Auto V as going to be gigantic, but we don't think anyone realised just how preposterously successful it would actually end up being. Rockstar's open world blockbuster has surpassed 80 million sales according to publisher Take-Two, which is an utterly insane figure. Equally mental is that the title has...
News Battleborn Flopped Incredibly Hard, But Take-Two Hasn't Lost Hope
Born to battle
We won't beat around the bush here: from the minute it was revealed we found it hard to care about Battleborn - Gearbox's MOBA-shooter thing with the divisive art style. Turns out that we weren't the only ones who struggled to give a **** either, as the game flopped pretty darn hard upon release. Last we heard, the player base is...
News Take-Two Isn't Interested in Yearly Releases, Says CEO
Strauss Zelnick strikes again
Strauss Zelnick is back. Yes, the mythical CEO of Take-Two Interactive is starring in yet another Push Square article. We've been through our fair share of ups and downs over the past few weeks: from the executive denying that Grand Theft Auto V was ever supposed to get story mode DLC to his saying that the
