Take-Two is shutting down the studios behind Rollerdrome and Kerbal Space Program 2

This one is nasty. Mega-publisher Take-Two Interactive is shutting down Roller rink studio Roll7 and Kerbal 2 Space Program team Intercept Games, according to documents seen by Bloomberg.

Roll7 is based in London and was founded in 2008 of lifelong friends Tom Heggerty and Simon Bennett. Roll7 is the studio behind Olly Olly, OlliOlli World and Roller rinkall fantastic games with wheel based mechanics. Olly Olly was a hit on the Vita in 2014 and Holy landed in early 2022 — both are great, the latter in particular being a flow-state-inducing skateboard platformer with a charming art style. Roller rink was one of our favorite games of 2022; it’s a cute third-person roller skating and gun game that looks like a slice of dystopian sci-fi from the 70s.

Roll7 has won numerous prestigious awards over the years, including recent wins in the BAFTA and DICE. As the studio name suggests, the developers at Roll7 know how to make incredibly smooth action games.

Take-Two purchased Roll7 in November 2021 and made it a subsidiary of Private Division, the company’s label for small and mid-sized publishing deals. According to BloombergTake-Two plans to close Roll7 and will offer severance packages to staff.

Intercept Games is based in Seattle and is responsible for Kerbal 2 Space Program, a popular flight simulation title that is technically still in Early Access on Steam. Take-Two founded Intercept in 2020 specifically for management Kerbal 2 Space Programand the game has been receiving updates since going live in February 2023.

Take-Two has yet to confirm that it’s shutting down Intercept Games — but it also hasn’t said it isn’t. The company filed notice in Washington on Monday outlining plans to lay off 70 people in the state and permanently close their place of business, and some Kerbal developers have confirmed their recent departures. The private section will continue to be updated Kerbal 2 Space ProgramTake-Two said in a statement.

Take-Two is one of the largest video game companies, reporting revenue of $5.3 billion last year. It owns Grand Theft Auto and the parent company of Rockstar Games, 2K, Private Division, Zynga and – most recently – Gearbox Software. Take-Two bought Borderlands studio Gearbox in March for $460 million. Grand Theft Auto VIperhaps the most anticipated game of the decade, should add billions to Take-Two’s bottom line in 2025.

In April, Take-Two announced plans to cut 5% of its workforce, or roughly 600 people, by the end of 2024. It also canceled some projects in development. When news of the planned layoffs broke last month, Take-Two didn’t specify which studios would take the hit, but we now know it includes Roll7 and Intercept. The company laid off some workers from the private sector in 2023 as well.

An estimated 9,400 people have been laid off in the video game industry so far in 2024, and a total of 10,500 workers have been laid off in 2023. Sony, Microsoft, and Riot Games have laid off a total of 3,300 workers this year alone, and the effects of the funding collapse of Embracer Group continues to expand with multiple closed studios and more than 1,400 displaced workers.