GTA 6 Publisher Axes Roll7 and Kerbal Space Program 2 Devs

Last month, Take-Two announced that it was “Streamlining its pipeline” by cutting hundreds of jobs and canceling $140 million worth of projects under development. Today the closure of the studios behind it was pushed forward Kerbal Space Program 2 And OlliOlli world, Bloomberg Reports.

A job advertisement filed today in Washington State, first reported by Game developerrevealed that Take-Two planned to lay off 70 people in Seattle, where space simulation maker Intercept Games operated Kerbal Space Program 2based. Bloomberg reports that a notice sent to Roll7 employees in London today confirmed that they too would be made redundant.

Both studios were part of Private Division, Take-Two’s publishing label for smaller and more individual games. “The label continues to make updates Kerbal Space Program 2 and plans to publish Wētā Workshop Game Studios Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings game in the second half of 2024,” said a Take-Two spokesperson Game developer in a statement.

Kerbal Space Program 2 has been a mess on the road to recovery since it was released in Early Access on Steam last year. Originally developed at a studio called Star Theory, Take-Two withdrew the contract and poached many of its employees back in 2020 to complete work on the game internally at the newly formed Intercept Games. It’s unclear who will continue to update the game after Intercept closes.

Roll7 has been around for a lot longer. Founded in 2008, its first breakthrough was the 2D pixel art skateboard game Olli Oli which debuted on the PlayStation Vita in 2013. A sequel as well as the run-and-gun action game Not a hero, followed in subsequent years. Take-Two acquired the studio in 2021 and released Roll7 the following year OlliOlli world And Rollerdromeboth of which received critical acclaim for their movement and style.

The founders of the studio told it Edge Magazine

In 2022, they joined Take-Two because they were tired of playing “Publisher Tinder” and always looking for new funding. “Indie Spirit, Corporate Money” was the motto back then. Now the publisher is withdrawing the latter to keep shareholders happy ahead of the release of Grand Theft Auto VI next year.

“We really feel like the next thing we put out, the Magnum Opus, is going to be the big game,” said Roll7 co-studio director Simon Bennett edge by the time. “OlliOlli world was a sequel – it was the best game we’ve ever made, but it wasn’t a completely new IP and it’s been a long time since we were in that headspace. To do this with a team that’s so damn amazing and with the support of Private Division – holy shit, we’re going to do something really big.”