It seems like only yesterday that we learned of the latest wave of layoffs in the world of video games. We must already add another stone to the unemployment edifice. Take-Two, best known for being the publisher of the franchise GTA, today separates 580 employees, which represent approximately 5% of its total payroll. This comes only a few days after announcing the purchase of Gearbox from Embracer Group for the sum of 460 million dollars.
Games canceled
Despite this apparent ease, the company is not necessarily doing better than others. In a document intended for the US Securities and Exchange Commission, we learn that the aim of this maneuver is “identify efficiencies across its operations and improve the company’s margin profile, while continuing to invest for growth“. The company explains:
“As part of these efforts, the company is streamlining its pipeline and eliminating several projects under development and streamlining its organizational structure, which will eliminate headcount and reduce future hiring needs.”
Reducing staff necessarily means an impact on current projects. We don’t yet know which studios will be most affected by this wave of layoffs, but it’s a safe bet that Gearbox, the latest addition, will see some departures. Take-Two states in its document that several projects and games were canceled following this decision, without specifying which ones. Many of them have certainly never been announced before.
Raw gold in your hands
The dismissal of all these people obviously has a cost which the firm details in the following lines. Take-Two anticipates that its program cost him up to $200 million, including $140 million in charges related to canceled games, “just” $35 million in severance and charges, and up to another $25 million in expenses related to reduced office space. The operation is expensive at the moment, but Take-Two intends to recoup its costs quickly, particularly with the release of the most anticipated game of the next 10 years.
Indeed, the publisher continues to actively work on the development of GTA 6the next gem from Rockstar Games. Borderlands 4 is also being prepared, and the players are constantly asking for the return of Red Dead Redemption in a new opus. Take-Two is still a company worth goldwhich was shaken, like all the others, by the pandemic and its spending sprees.
