Take-Two Interactive has officially sold Private Division to an undisclosed buyer, for an undisclosed sum. The deal includes the Private Division label, as well as the studio’s major IP – although early access action-RPG No Rest for the Wicked will continue to be overseen by Take-Two.
Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said the company would soon reveal who had purchased Private Division, and what the next steps are for the company. In discussion, Zelnick also revealed Take-Two sold Private Division to focus on its core and mobile businesses in the long term.
“We’re really best at these big AAA experiences,” Zelnick said. “We have the biggest intellectual properties in the interactive entertainment business, some of the biggest intellectual properties in the overall entertainment business and to make sequels to existing beloved franchises as well as to create new hit intellectual properties is our mission.”
He also made clear that while Private Division did “a great job supporting independent developers,” Take-Two is now looking for larger hits. That desire seemingly contributed to the now-confirmed shut downs of Roll7 and Intercept Games, both of which were working on smaller, but still beloved franchises. Previously, Zelnick claimed these studios had not been shut down.
Read: Roll7 and Intercept Games reportedly shut down by Take-Two
Private Division, in recent times, has also been impacted heavily by Take-Two’s cost reduction program, which initiated layoffs and shut downs for a variety of studios. In April, Take-Two announced around 5% of all staff at the studio would be laid off.
Now, the path ahead for remaining employees is relatively unclear. Private Division being sold suggests it will be supported well into the future, under new management. With major titles like Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game on the way in March 2025, and other projects in the works, the publishing label has plenty left in the tank.
Zelnick has promised more news shortly, so we’ll soon hear which company has now added Private Division to its roster of labels, and hopefully learn more about what’s planned for the company and its biggest franchises.
