Take-Two Interactive is reportedly shutting down Intercept Games, the team behind Kerbal Space Program 2, as well as Roll7, another studio behind Rollerdrome and OlliOlli.
Intercept Games is a Seattle-based studio behind Kerbal Space Program 2, which has been in early access on Steam since 2021. Take-Two Interactive founded Intercept Games to publish and create KSP2, receiving updates since February 2023.
Roll7, on the other hand, is a London-based studio founded by Tom Hegarty and Simon Bennett in 2008. OlliOlli, OlliOlli World, and Rollerdrome, all roller skate themed games (though the last one is a also a third-person shooter), were the studio’s releases, with OlliOlli being released in 2014 for the PS Vita and Rollerdrome for PC, Xbox X/S, and PS4 and 5 in 2022.
The new report (via GamesIndustry.biz, Bloomberg) notes the studios have been shuttered and all staff laid off. A followup report claims the “vast majority” of Take-Two subsidiary Private Division’s teams in Seattle, New York, Las Vegas, and Munich, have also been shuttered.
It was also found that a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) was posted for Intercept Games in the Employee Security Department of Washington State’s site in April 29, and it indicated that the shutdown was permanent. According to Take-Two, Private Division will take over the development of Kerbal Space Program 2. Here’s a statement from Take-Two:
On April 16th, Take-Two announced a cost reduction program to identify efficiencies across its business and to enhance the Company’s margin profile, while still investing for growth. As part of these efforts, the Company is rationalizing its pipeline and eliminating several projects in development and streamlining its organizational structure, which will eliminate headcount and reduce future hiring needs. The Company is not providing additional details on this program.
On April 18th Private Division successfully launched Moon Studio’s No Rest for the Wicked. The label continues to make updates to Kerbal Space Program 2 and plans to release Wētā Workshop Game Studio’s Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Game in the second half of 2024.
This news comes after Take-Two Interactive said that they are laying off at least 600 workers, or 5 percent of their workforce by the end of 2024. Roll7 and Intercept Games are reportedly the first confirmed studios to be shut down.
