Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two Interactive today announced that it has approved a cost reduction program to identify efficiencies across the business and improve the company’s profitability while continuing to invest in growth. ”, which effectively means the program is cancelled. Several games currently in development have laid off about 5% of their employees.
Information about the layoffs comes from an SEC filing in which Take-Two said it was “streamlining its pipeline” and “streamlining its organizational structure.” The costs related to the reductions include between $15 million and $25 million related to office space reductions, which indicate that some Take-Two offices will be closed as part of the reductions. ing.
Although the actual number of employees who will be laid off has not been disclosed, Take-Two’s 2023 annual report states that as of March 31, 2023, it had approximately 11,580 employees worldwide. He said the number of employees being laid off will be just under 600. This is Take-Two’s second layoff in just over a year. Take-Two laid off an unknown number of employees from its private publishing label in March 2023 due to its “rapid growth in recent years.” Department.
Take-Two reported net bookings of $1.3 billion in its most recent financial quarter and expects total net bookings for fiscal 2024 to be between $5.25 billion and $5.3 billion. That’s a lot of money, but it doesn’t appear to be enough to prevent hundreds of layoffs. And while more money is being made, many More funds are needed. That won’t be enough when Grand Theft Auto 6 comes out in 2025 or ’26, or whenever.
As of early February, there have been more than 16,000 layoffs in the gaming industry since the start of 2023, and there are no signs of slowing down even in 2024. Since then, we’ve seen hundreds more people get fired from studios including Relic, Certain Affinity, Sega, EA, and more.
Take-Two declined to comment on layoffs or cancellations. The company’s next financial report is due in May and could shed more light on the extent of the cuts.
