There hasn’t been a lot of good news about Private Division lately, as it was recently rumored that two of the studios will be completely shut down by indie game publisher Take-Two Interactive…

Private Division has reportedly laid off “the vast majority” of its team in Seattle, New York, Las Vegas and Munich, according to Gamesindustry. Not only its two in-house studios, Roll7 (Rollerdrome, OlliOlli World) and Intercept Games (Kerbal Space Program 2), are affected. Private Division, which also has an office in Singapore, was set up in 2017 precisely to “publish games from top creative talent in the growing independent development landscape.”

We’ve seen several games from them, including Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey (Panache Digital Games), The Outer Worlds (Obsidian Entertainment), After Us (Piccolo Studio), Saltsea Chronicles (Die Gute Fabrik), Penny’s Big Breakaway (Evening Star). Most recently, Private Division released No Rest for the Wicked (Moon Studios) in Early Access, and Tales of the Shire (Wētā Workshop) is scheduled to launch under their banner sometime in 2024. Last May, the company announced that a new action-adventure IP, Project Bloom, from Game Freak (Pokémon!) had landed with them, but that it would not be released until the next fiscal year, March 2026 at the latest.

A Take-Two spokesperson said: “On April 16, Take-Two announced a cost reduction program to identify efficiencies across its business and improve the company’s margin profile while continuing to invest in growth. As part of this effort, the company is rationalizing its pipeline, eliminating several projects in development and streamlining its organizational structure, which will reduce headcount and future hiring needs. The Company is not providing further details on this program. On April 18, Private Division successfully launched Moon Studio’s No Rest for the Wicked. The label continues to make updates to Kerbal Space Program 2 and plans to release Wētā Workshop Game Studio’s Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game in the second half of 2024.”

In April, Take-Two said it would lay off 5% of its workforce, or about 600 people. Private Division may be the hardest hit.

Source: VGC, Gamesindustry