According to a report published by IGN, Take-Two would like to close Private Division permanently, his label that deals with the publication of indie and double A titles. So the restructuring, which began with the closure of Intercept Games, the Kerbal Space Program 2 studio, and Roll7, the OlliOlli studio, would actually go much further deeply. There are two hypotheses in the field for Private Division: complete closure or sale to third parties.
For now, Take-Two has not issued any official statements on the matter, although their reliability would however be considered very lowgiven that at the beginning of the month CEO Strauss Zelnick had declared that there were no studios closing and then we know how it ended.
IGN has received tips regarding the end of Private Division from multiple sources who wished to remain anonymous and aware of the internal facts of the company, according to which Intercept Games will be definitively closed on June 28th and on the same days Roll7 will also be closed, with only a small development team that will remain active to complete the final works.
Bad management
As for Private Division, IGN has learned that staff were told about the impending layoffs in February, with no specifics given on how many would be fired, why, or the company’s vision for the future. At the end of April Take-Two reportedly told those remaining that Private Division would no longer be supported, firing almost all the staff.
Only a few employees were saved, necessary to support the publisher’s latest games already signed, such as No Rest for the Wicked by Moon Studios, Tales of the Shire by Wētā Workshop and a still unannounced game by Game Freak. Private Division would instead have distanced itself from two projects still in the negotiation phase, withdrawing the offers made, namely a game by Bloober Team and one by One More Level, the Ghostrunner studio.
As mentioned, the options on the table for Private Division would be different, such as the sale of the most valuable intellectual properties, such as Kerbal Space Program. According to what IGN learned, there would have been contact Paradox Interactive, which however led to nothing. As regards the publisher as a whole, a holding company would have come forward, but an agreement has not yet been reached. In any case, it seems that the negotiations are at an advanced stage, favored by people within Moon Studios.
However, the idea would be creating a certain apprehension, as revealed by two sources, due to the working conditions within Moon Studios, which a 2022 report by VentureBeat had already talked about. One of the sources confirmed it as “true”, even defining the reality as “worse”. The other called the studio’s founders “cruel” and would be a “nightmare” to work with.
All sources agree on the mismanagement of Private Division. In particular, the name of Michael Worosz, the leader, who would not have been able to lead it, was mentioned he would often set absurd goals. Apparently it was because of him that Kerbal Space Program 2 was launched incomplete.
However, everyone agrees that the loss of Private Division is a shame, because the team truly believed in its mission to help small independent teams launch their games on the market. Furthermore, given the treatment received from Take-Two, many believe that the company does not care about its employees. Take-Two declined to comment on IGN’s report.
#TakeTwo #kill #indie #label #Private #Division #report
