GTA 5's publisher Take-Two Interactive set to lay off 5% workforce to reduce costs: Report

Take-Two Interactive, Rockstar Games’ parent company that published GTA 5, is set to lay off 5% of its employees, according to Bloomberg. The company will also reportedly drop several projects as part of its cost-saving process. This report comes as a shocker, especially after Rockstar Games called back all of its remote employees to work from the studio starting April 15, 2024.

According to Bloomberg, Take-Two Interactive is facing a cost of up to $200 million as part of its layoff process.

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GTA 5 publisher Take-Two Interactive reportedly plans to fire employees to save operational costs

While the yet-to-be-disclosed GTA 6 release date is quickly approaching, Take-Two Interactive reportedly plans to downsize its workforce moving forward. Per the Bloomberg report published on April 17, 2024, the parent company currently has 11,580 full-time employees, and 5% of those are about to be laid off.

This sudden change in plans shocked the gaming community (including Grand Theft Auto fans) as Strauss Zelnick, the CEO of Take-Two Interactive, said in February 2024 that Take-Two Interactive has no plans to lay off its employees. However, the company did point out that it was considering a “significant cost reduction program.”

While Rockstar Games called all its remote employees to come to the office to finalize the GTA 6 development process, the news about the layoff is creating confusion among fans.

When it comes to the cost of the downsizing, the report stated:

“The company sees expenses of up to $200 million as part of the downsizing effort, including as much as $140 million from canceled projects and $35 million in employee-related costs”

Another thing the report vaguely mentioned was that Take-Two Interactive would “drop some projects.” The parent company owns multiple video game studios, including Rockstar Games. Although it did not mention which projects would be scrapped, fans are worried about the Grand Theft Auto franchise since it faced multiple project rejections in the past.

In other news, the release date for Grand Theft Auto 6 is approaching quickly, and it is expected to make even more profit than GTA 5. It will be interesting to see what plans both Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive have for the future in light of the layoffs and work-from-office policy.