Take-Two sells Private Division label to a secret new owner

thesixthaxis.com:

Take-Two Interactive has announced the sale of their indie games publishing label Private Division, though hasn’t revealed who that is. Despite previous statements, they have also confirmed that developers Roll7 and Intercept Games were closed prior to the sale.

Details of the buyer will be revealed “relatively soon”, Take-Two Interactive Software CEO Strauss Zelnick told GamesIndustry.biz.

As part of the sale, the buyer now takes on all of Private Division’s catalogue of games and future projects, with the sole exception being Moon Studios’ action RPG No Rest for the Wicked, which entered Steam Early Access back in April. Other games, such as Weta Workshop’s Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Game has gone with the publishing label.

Earlier this year, it was reported that Private Division was closing down OlliOlli developer Roll7 and Kerbal Space Program 2 developer Intercept Games, seemingly as part of Take-Two’s cost-cutting measures.

At the time, Take-Two insisted that KSP2 would still receive updates, and Zelnick publicly claimed that the studios hadn’t been closed down. That statement was a big fat untruth, considering the WARN notices of job losses that were already available.

As for why they’re selling Private Division now? Zelnick just thinks indie games and smaller projects aren’t big enough to be worth Take-Two’s time.

Speaking to GI.biz, he said, “The team of Private Division did a great job supporting independent developers and, almost to a one, 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.”

Take-Two, naturally, has Grand Theft Auto 6 and Borderlands 4 in the pipeline.

Source: GamesIndustry.biz