Take-Two Interactive Software Inc., the company behind the Grand Theft Auto video games, plans to fire 5% its workforce and drop several projects as part of a cost-savings drive.
The company sees expenses of up to $200 million as part of the downsising effort, including as much as $140 million from cancelled projects and $35 million in employee-related costs, according to a filing Tuesday.
Take-Two is the latest big gaming company to suffer mass layoffs this year, including Unity Software Inc., Riot Games and Microsoft Corp.’s games division. A contraction in the industry has led executives to take a risk-averse strategy when it comes to developing new games, which can take years and cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
Take-Two employed 11,580 full-time workers at the end of its last fiscal year, according to filings.
Grand Theft Auto VI, due out in 2025, is expected to be one of the highest-grossing media products of all time.
A company spokesperson declined to comment beyond the filing. On a February earnings call, Take-Two said it was working on a “significant cost reduction program.” In a recent interview with IGN, Chief Executive Officer Strauss Zelnick said there were “no current plans” for layoffs.
In March, the company agreed to acquire Gearbox Entertainment from Embracer Group AB for $460 million.
In 2022, Take-Two purchased mobile game company Zynga for about $12 billion — a bet that industry analysts say hasn’t paid off. The mobile games industry suffered a downturn shortly after the deal went through.
The shares were unchanged in extended trading.