Source: AFP
Take-Two Interactive told U.S. regulators on Tuesday that it would cut its workforce by 5 percent and scrap some video games in production to cut costs.
About 600 jobs are expected to be cut at Take-Two, the parent company of studios such as Rockstar Games, maker of the blockbuster Grand Theft Auto series.
Take-Two is “streamlining its pipeline, eliminating several projects in development, and streamlining its organizational structure, which will reduce headcount and reduce future hiring needs,” the company said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Stated.
Layoffs have hit video game companies large and small since the end of the pandemic, citing overemployment and economic hardship as reasons for the layoffs.
The New York-based company had said it was working on cost-cutting plans after reporting disappointing financial results in the final three months of last year.
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Take-Two lowered its financial outlook at the time, saying in an earnings call that the change reflected “softness” it was experiencing in mobile advertising and its basketball video game NBA 2K24.
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Take-Two owns mobile game maker Zynga.
In the quarter, Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption exceeded Take-Two's expectations, according to the company's financial results.
In December, millions of video game fans got excited about Grand Theft Auto VI with the release of a trailer that promised the first female protagonist and a 2025 release date for the latest installment in one of the world's biggest entertainment franchises. I saw it for the first time.
Fans have been waiting a decade for news of 2013's GTA V sequel. GTA V is an industry phenomenon that sold over 190 million copies, making it the second-biggest game of all time behind “Minecraft.”
The GTA VI trailer focuses on the character Lucia, who has just been released from prison in a Florida-like environment, making her the first in a series that has long been criticized for its portrayal of women, minorities and LGBTQ people. She is now a playable female character.
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The trailer includes an alligator entering a corner store, a woman twerking on the roof of a moving car, and the usual police raids and criminal activities that have been depicted in games over the years.
Online forums went wild after the trailer hinted that Lucia would be involved in a crime spree with a male partner.
“Great Bonnie and Clyde vibes,” one Reddit user wrote, referring to the bank robber couple who enjoyed notoriety in the 1930s.
According to Take-Two, the GTA series has sold a whopping 410 million copies since its release in 1997.
The announcement of the cost-cutting plan comes just weeks after Swedish video game group Embracer announced it would sell Gearbox Entertainment, the developer behind the popular first-person shooter series Borderlands, to Take-Two for $460 million. It was done later.
Source: AFP
