Private Division Sold to Unknown Buyer in the Wake of Take-Two Shuttering Two of Its Studios

ign.com:

Take-Two has sold indie publisher Private Division to an unknown buyer in the wake of shuttering Roll7 and Intercept Games, saying that it wants to focus on its core and mobile businesses going forward. While virtually all of Private Division's live and unreleased games will go to the new buyer, Take-Two says it will continue to support No Rest for the Wicked, the recently-released action RPG from Moon Studios that's currently in early access.

Take-Two announced the move during Wednesday's earnings results, saying in a statement, "We are grateful for the contributions that the Private Division team has made to our company and are confident that they will continue to achieve success in their new home."

The Private Division sale follows Take-Two's decision to wind down indie studios Roll7 and Intercept Games, both of which operated under the label's umbrella. An IGN report at the time revealed Take-Two's plans to offload the label and that it had found interest from a private equity firm, with discussions faciliated by individuals with connnections to Moon Studios leadership. It's unclear whether that firm ultimately followed through on its interest.

Private Division was founded in 2017 with the goal of provide funding and support to "triple-I" game such as The Outer Worlds. Its upcoming releases include Tales of the Shire, the cozy Lords of the Rings game that was recently delayed into 2025, and an untitled action-adventure game from Game Freak codenamed Project Bloom.

Take-Two has spent much of 2024 trying to sell Private Division, telling employees in April that it would no longer support the label and laying off many of its employees. A small group has remained to continue support No Rest for the Wicked as well as Private Division's other upcoming games. Take-Two, for its part, is turning even more of its focus toward Grand Theft Auto VI, which it still expects to release in fall 2025.

Kat Bailey is IGN's News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have