Take-Two Sells Private Division and Shutter Studios

Remember when there was the news that Kerbal Space Program 2 developer Intercept Games would be shutting down, then Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said that wasn’t the case? This, alongside Olli Olli World developer Roll7 being hit by the same closure? It would be madness if both studios were then quickly shut a couple of months later with the publisher being sold off for scraps.

According to Gamesindustry.biz, Take-Two Interactive has sold the smaller, indie-focused publishing label, Private Division. It hasn’t disclosed the buyer, because I guess we’re waiting until the Game Awards? Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick told Gamesindustry.biz that we’d find out the buyer “relatively soon.”

According to the report, Take-Two will continue to support the previously Private Division published and Moon Studios developed No Rest for the Wicked. However, there are no specifics on how that will come about as of yet. It also comes a few months after Private Division stopped supporting the Silent Hill 2 remake from Bloober Team released last month.

According to Zelnick, speaking on Private Division’s success, “They brought onboard and launched a number of titles over the past several years, and virtually all of them worked out, and a couple of them were pretty big breakouts. At the same time, it became clear that our thesis, which is ‘work with independent developers, bring them into this independently minded division, and perhaps create new, huge, durable intellectual properties for the company,’ was going to be challenging at best.” The flops including Kerbal Space Program 2 weren’t the problem, the success just wasn’t big enough it seems.

Speaking to Gamesindustry.biz, Zelnick said, “We made this strategic decision so that we could focus all of our resources on growing our core and mobile businesses for the long term[.] We’re really best at these big AAA experiences. We have the biggest intellectual properties in the interactive entertainment business, some of the biggest intellectual properties in the overall entertainment business and to make sequels to existing beloved franchises as well as to create new hit intellectual properties is our mission.

The team of Private Division did a great job supporting independent developers and, almost to a one [sic], every project they supported did well. However, the scale of those projects was, candidly, on the smaller side, and we’re in the business of making great big hits.”

A spokesperson for Take-Two has said to Gamesindustry.biz that the Olli Olli World developer Roll7 and Kerbal Space Program 2 developer Intercept Games were, in fact, closed shortly before the sale of publisher Private Division.

What makes this Lewis Black levels of angry-funny is that it comes the same day TakeTwo Interactive released its report on the second fiscal quarter of 2025. I shouldn’t have to explain what is about to come next, you know it already. “$1.47 billion Net Bookings,” with “[Take-Two] updates fiscal year 2025 outlook and reiterates expectation for Net Bookings of $5.55 to $5.65 billion.” So while the money people make bank notes sticky, with a whole 2% growth year-on-year (we’ll ignore the penis joke), the indie label is shuttered so the company can make more mobile games, yearly sports releases, and endless sequels. Got it!