This one’s a bummer. Mega-publisher Take-Two Interactive is shuttering Rollerdrome studio Roll7 and Kerbal House Program 2 group Intercept Video games, in accordance with paperwork seen by Bloomberg.
Roll7 relies in London, and was based in 2008 by lifelong pals Tom Hegarty and Simon Bennett. Roll7 is the studio behind OlliOlli, OlliOlli World and Rollerdrome, all incredible video games with wheel-based mechanics. OlliOlli was a Vita hit in 2014 and World landed in early 2022 — they’re each nice, and the latter particularly is a flow-state-inducing skateboarding platformer with an cute artwork fashion. Rollerdrome was one in all our favourite video games of 2022; it is a luscious third-person rollerskating-and-gunplay recreation that appears like a slice of Nineteen Seventies dystopian sci-fi.
Roll7 has picked up a number of prestigious awards over time, together with latest wins at BAFTA and DICE. Because the studio title implies, Roll7 builders know the best way to make extremely clean motion video games.
Take-Two bought Roll7 in November 2021 and made it a subsidiary of Non-public Division, the corporate’s label for small- and mid-size publishing offers. In response to Bloomberg, Take-Two plans to shut Roll7 and can supply severance packages to employees.
Intercept Video games relies in Seattle and is accountable for Kerbal House Program 2, a well-liked flight-simulation title that is nonetheless technically in early entry on Steam. Take-Two based Intercept in 2020 particularly to handle Kerbal House Program 2, and the sport has been receiving updates since going dwell in February 2023.
Take-Two has but to verify that it is closing Intercept Video games — however it hasn’t stated it is not, both. The corporate filed a discover in Washington on Monday outlining plans to put off 70 individuals within the state and completely shut their office, and a few Kerbal builders have confirmed their latest departures. Non-public Division will proceed to replace Kerbal House Program 2, Take-Two stated in an announcement.
Take-Two is likely one of the largest online game firms round, reporting $5.3 billion in income final 12 months. It is the proprietor of Grand Theft Auto and the father or mother firm of Rockstar Video games, 2K, Non-public Division, Zynga and — very not too long ago — Gearbox Software program. Take-Two bought Borderlands studio Gearbox in March for $460 million. Grand Theft Auto VI, arguably probably the most anticipated recreation of the last decade, is because of add billions to Take-Two’s backside line in 2025.
In April, Take-Two introduced plans to put off 5 % of its staff, or roughly 600 individuals, by the top of 2024. It additionally canceled some in-development initiatives. When information of the deliberate firings broke final month, Take-Two did not establish which studios would take the hit, however now we all know it contains Roll7 and Intercept. The corporate laid off some Non-public Division employees in 2023 as nicely.
An estimated 9,400 individuals have been laid off within the online game business to this point in 2024, and a complete of 10,500 employees had been let go in 2023. Sony, Microsoft and Riot Video games have fired a mixed 3,300 staff this 12 months alone, and the fallout from Embracer Group’s funding implosion retains spreading, with quite a few shuttered studios and greater than 1,400 displaced employees.
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