Take-Two Comments on Kerbal Space Program 2 Devs' Fate. Publisher Canceled Unannounced Games
Strauss Zelnick from Take-Two Interactive assures that the developers of Kerbal Space Program 2 and OlliOlli haven't been shut down. Gamers don't believe it.
The past fiscal year for Take-Two Interactive wasn't particularly successful for the company in terms of strictly financial matters. Unfortunately, this also led to the publisher canceling games mentioned in the latest report.
Take-Two deletes games outside of main series
Take-Two has once again revealed the lineup of titles it intends to release in the upcoming years, extending this time until the 2027 fiscal year (which is no later than March 31, 2028). In February, the list had 52 items, but in the latest table, there are only 40 projects.
Of course, the games being removed from the schedule could simply indicate a delay to a later time. However, Karl Slatoff, one of the CEOs of Take-Two Interactive, confirmed in a conversation with investors that "many titles" were canceled as part of a "cost reduction program." Similar to other publishers, the company wants to focus its efforts and resources on key projects and brands.
Slatoff mentioned during the conference that none of the canceled projects were part of the publisher's main series and wouldn't have a significant impact on the company's finances.
What about the devs of Kerbal Space Program 2 and OlliOlli?
However, neither the report nor the conference addressed the issues from the beginning of the month. It's about leaks concerning the alleged closure of Intercept Games and Roll7 studies. Strauss Zelnick mentioned their situation in an interview for IGN.
The head of Take Two Interactive allegedly assured that neither the devs of Kerbal Space Program 2 nor OlliOlli were closed. He also admitted that the company saved 165 million dollars (instead of the planned 100 million) under the previously mentioned cost reduction program, which has just begun to be put into effect. However, "nothing was shuttered."
In theory, players should breathe a sigh of relief. In theory only, because Zelnick didn't provide any information about the situation of both studios. Furthermore, when Rebekah Valentine from IGN asked him if he refutes Jason Schreier's information about the shutdown of the studios, a representative from the Public Relations department interrupted the conversation:
In the 8-K filing that we put out we talked about the cost reduction plan is approximately 5% reduction in headcount worldwide, but we did not give a label-by-label breakdown of what that looks like.
In response to further inquiries from the journalist, the Take-Two representative effectively refused to provide any details. As if that wasn't enough, after the publication of the IGN article, Jason Schreier published a fragment of the notification about the dissolution of the Roll7 team, which was allegedly received by studio employees (via X).
Players' skepticism about the truthfulness of Zelnick's words is understandable, given the credible reports from the beginning of the month and Take-Two's reluctance to definitively clarify the situation. Especially since it wouldn't be the first time a publisher quietly closes a studio (see the never officially announced shutdown of 2K Marin; via GamesIndustry.biz / Jason Schreier), and the situation for KSP 2 isn't good.
Only 9% of 1600 users on Steam gave positive reviews in the last 30 days, partly due to earlier reports about the closure of Intercept Games. However, even without the latest reviews, it's clear that the second installment of Kerbal Space Program didn't impress fans of the original game. At least at first.
