Take-Two Interactive lays off employees across its subsidiaries

Take-Two Interactive has confirmed that it has laid off some employees across multiple of its subsidiaries, including Private Division.

The details:

• Bloomberg's Jason Schreier broke the news of the layoffs on Twitter after hearing it from sources close to the situation. Schreier claimed in the tweet that the cuts would affect multiple divisions of the publisher, specifically the indie-focused Private Division publishing label.
• The company did not provide any specific details about the layoffs, but it did confirm to PC Gamer following the news that there had been "targeted reductions" in its US teams, specifically operations and publishing. Take-Two spokesperson Alan Lewis also stated that the impact of the company's reductions on US development teams have been "minimal," but that it has "begun procedures in compliance with local law" for its operations outside of the US.
• Strauss Zelnick, the publisher's chairman, and CEO, previously stated in an interview that "any kind of broad-based reduction in force" was unexpected, but that it would go "department by department and try to drive efficiency." Since that February interview, it appears that the company has seen the need to cut positions in tandem with the implementation of its "cost-reduction program" put in place to soften the blow of its poor fourth quarter.

Other noteworthy Take-Two news:

• According to an insider, Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto 6 is aiming for a holiday 2024 release date as higher-ups are no longer willing to approve further delays for extra development time. The highly anticipated title will reportedly launch as a smaller game, with the cut content added to the game later via DLC.
• Rumors of Sony acquiring Take-Two surfaced last month, with an alleged insider claiming that the purchase would be in response to Microsoft if its acquisition of Activision-Blizzard is successful. The source has since been referred to as "very dubious" by Schreier, and Sony’s chief financial officer, Hiroki Totoki, has gone on to state that the company had $5 billion to spend on investments by 2024, ruling out Take-Two with its $19 billion market cap.