US publishing giant Take-Two has acquired Gearbox Entertainment for $460 million, entirely in new stock. The Grand Theft Auto firm has bought the Borderlands maker from troubled Swedish games firm Embracer, which acquired the studio for $363 million in 2021.
Gearbox will operate under Take-Two's 2K Games label. A new entry in the Borderlands franchise is apparently in development. “Our acquisition of Gearbox is an exciting moment for Take-Two and will strengthen our industry-leading creative talent and portfolio of owned intellectual property, including the iconic Borderlands franchise,” Take-Two CEO and chair Strauss Zelnick (pictured) said. “This combination enhances the financial profile of our existing projects with Gearbox and unlocks the opportunity for us to drive increased long-term growth by leveraging the full resources of Take-Two across all of Gearbox’s exciting initiatives.” Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford added: “Joining forces with Take-Two Interactive and 2K will help Gearbox ascend to our next level.
Take-Two and 2K have demonstrated repeatedly their commitment to our engine of generating creativity, happiness, and profit.
We set the bar for interactive entertainment and achieved remarkable results with groundbreaking, record-setting games when we worked together at arm's length as partners.
I’m incredibly excited about what we can accomplish now that we're fully aligned as one." Rumours that Embracer was considering a sale of Gearbox emerged in September 2023.