Summary
- Layoffs hit Intercept Games despite Take-Two claiming no closures.
- Intercept Games team being laid off effective June 28.
Take-Two’s game studio Intercept Games has become yet another victim of game industry layoffs and closures, despite claims to the contrary.
Earlier this month, Take-Two’s CEO Strauss Zelnick responded to rumors that the company was shuttering OlliOlli World developer Roll7 and Kerbal Space Program 2 developer Intercept Games amid cost-cutting measures. Internal documentation from Bloomberg showed that Take Two was proposing to shutter Roll7 but did not mention Intercept Games. Zelnick said the company did not shutter its studios but instead rolled out a cost-reduction plan to save $165 million “in existing and future costs” by cutting spending, canceling projects, and laying off 5% of its staff.
Take-Two CEO Responds to Rumors of Roll7 and Intercept Studio Closures
Take-Two’s CEO, Strauss Zelnick, responds to rumors about gaming studios Roll7 and Intercept Games possibly closing down.
Now, however, Insider Gaming has shared that Intercept Games is shuttering. In a post on LinkedIn, Quinn Duffy, senior design manager for Kerbal Space Program 2, announced that the company is laying off the Intercept Games team, effective June 28. Duffy said, “Kerbal Space Program 2 is a delightful game, deeply engrossing, and incredibly pretty even in its early-access state, and I hope you have a chance to check it out.”
Take-Two Shutters Intercept Games and Lays Off Kerbal Space Program 2 Team
Rumors initially circulated when a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notice (WARN) indicated that 70 people at Take-Two Interactive's office in Seattle were being laid off. The WARN notice seemed to indicate that it wasn’t a layoff but a full closure. But Zelnick waved off concerns by responding, “We just tend to leave those announcements to the label, so we're not trying to be cute or difficult today.”
The flight simulator game Kerbal Space Program has had a rocky development history. Star Theory Games was originally developing the second installment when Take-Two opened Intercept Games in 2020 as a Private Division and snatched Kerbal Space Program 2 from Star Theory. Take-Two brought some of Star Theory’s employees on board to continue work on the game, but Star Theory shut its doors three months later.
Kerbal Space Program 2 has been review-bombed on Steam after rumors of the developer’s closure surfaced online. Its recent reviews are now labeled “Overwhelmingly Negative.” Many reviewers are showing solidarity toward the laid-off developers, while others are frustrated that any promised updates and features to the game will be abandoned in June.
With this batch of layoffs and Intercept Games closing, Roll7’s future seems even more uncertain. But Take-Two has other games to focus on in an attempt to boost its bottom line. The company this month reported its full-year net revenue of $5.35 billion, with a net loss of $3.7 billion, thanks to operating expenses that were up 69% year over year. Take Two is set to release Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game this fall and Grand Theft Auto 6 in fall 2025.
- Date Founded
- September 30, 1993
- Headquarters
- New York, New York, United States
- Subsidiaries
- Rockstar Games, 2K Games, Zynga, Firaxis Games
- Known For
- BioShock, Grand Theft Auto