Take-Two Interactive, the well-known publisher behind game series such as Grand Theft Auto, will lay off five percent of its entire workforce. They have also announced their plans to cancel $140 million worth of projects. Will this cost-cutting affect GTA 6?
What exactly is happening at Take-Two? On Tuesday, April 16, 2024, the executives of the US-based publisher announced massive cost-cutting measures. They want to "tighten the pipeline" to save costs.
Layoffs And Project Cancellation
Approximately 600 of the 11,000 employees will receive layoff notices, and several projects will be canceled to save an estimated $140 million. The layoffs will also allow for a reduction in office space, which will further reduce costs. That sounds pretty satirical, given that Take-Two just canceled working from home for all their employees.
Why is this move surprising? In March 2023, there were layoffs at Take-Two Interactive to "align the organization with the company's long-term priorities." The exact number of positions affected was not disclosed at the time. In addition, Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Take-Two, stated just last month that while further cost-cutting is planned in the coming weeks, there are no plans for layoffs.And most recently, Take-Two announced its intention to acquire Gearbox Entertainment for $460 million by the end of June. The acquisition will be financed through the sale of new shares of Take-Two stock.
Will This Impact GTA 6?
Although the publisher did not specify which projects would be cut, we can assume that GTA 6 will not be affected by the cost-cutting measures - after all, it is the most important release in the next few years.Take-Two is expecting a massive increase in revenue once the open-world blockbuster is release-scheduled for 2025. This will be necessary as development and marketing costs are expected to be between one and two billion US dollars, according to several sources.In the most recent quarter, Take-Two generated net revenues of $1.2 billion. That's 20 percent more than last year, with CEO Strauss Zelnick received a total compensation of $40 million for the financial results of 2023. Part of the bonus was tied to player spending on microtransactions, sadly.