"A completely cruel and baffling decision": Industry anger over GTA 6 publisher's closure of two acclaimed studios despite commercial successes and CEO's $26 million pay rise

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(Image credit: Roll7)

Game developers have reacted to news of Take-Two shuttering two studios in the context of GTA 6's imminent release and publishing boss Strauss Zelnick's pay check. 

Yesterday, May 1, Bloomberg reported that Take-Two would be shutting down British developer Roll7, and Seattle-based studio Intercept Games. This is actually part of Take-Two's previously-announced 600 layoffs last month in April, so it means the developers being laid off from both studios are included in the 600 people being left jobless. 

Now, developers and other industry personnel are reacting to news of the studio closures under Take-Two. The two tweets below, for example, point out how corporations can turn on individuals and throw away the human elements incredibly rapidly, despite the fact that said corporation is worth upwards of 24 billion USD in market capitalization.

The large corporate cycle is just gushing about people, culture, the human element, teamwork & pride. And then when operational failures lead the mass layoffs, the human element is so deliberately thrown away. The mask peeled off. Corporations do not care about you. https://t.co/mELiiutmWTMay 1, 2024

https://t.co/4Dqze5lvK8 pic.twitter.com/qcSXoZk2YWMay 1, 2024

Elsewhere, the two tweets below point out that Roll7 released not one, but two critically-acclaimed games less than two years ago in 2022. Rollerdrome and OlliOlli World are two beloved, award-winning games, but the tweets below point out that being award-winning, recognizable, and profitable in the games industry inexplicably still couldn't save Roll7 from Take-Two's layoffs.

You can create a Golden Joystick nominated Indie game that has 9/10 on IGN and Steam reviews, wins a BAFTA for best British Game, is profitable, and the megacorps will still shut you down 💔 https://t.co/7Pm1DGYqW6May 1, 2024

Roll7 released not one but two GOTY contenders in 2022. Genuinely cannot imagine how devastated that team must be right now. Just a completely cruel and baffling decision. https://t.co/oR7o3FzFxHMay 1, 2024

Others, meanwhile, have called into question Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick's financial compensation from the company that just shut down two developers and left hundreds without a job. The tweets rightly point out that Zelnick, who received more than double his standard financial compensation last year, going from $16 million to $42 million, could have quite literally kept both studios afloat with the money he earned from that year alone.

It may be time for another episode of Upsetting Math & Corporate Greed 🙃~70 Intercept devs + ~60 Roll7 devs (based on report & LinkedIn estimation)130 x $75,000 = $9,750,000So for less than 1/4 of one man's compensation, you could keep all the devs employed for one year https://t.co/yx67vEsFniMay 2, 2024

Reminder that at least 2 execs from Take-Two received $70 million bonus last year.The money that could directly benefit their studio's creating BAFTA winning games going into the pockets of 2 people last year.So sorry to the teams at Roll7 and Intercept 💔 pic.twitter.com/czZ0xwrfTYMay 2, 2024

Additionally, others are pointing out that Take-Two stands to massively benefit from releasing GTA 6, one of the most anticipated games of all time, next year in 2025. GTA 5 earned a record-breaking $8.5 billion since launch in 2013, which has no doubt helped propel Take-Two to the financial heights it's now sat at, along with Zelnick's inflated pay check.

Take-Two will be making a boat load from GTA: 6 soon but it's not enough to keep a BAFTA Game winning studio open to follow-up on their groundbreaking work - the money / culture gap in gaming growing and the job cuts just keep on coming - troubling time for games makers. https://t.co/QDVWs8sgjLMay 1, 2024

There's also the money Take-Two is making right now, before GTA 6 releases, to consider. The Radical Forge developer below makes the very valid point that Take-Two earns from GTA Online's players making in-game purchases, and what's more, the publisher also earns money from microtransactions in the NBA 2K series, an annual series which retains millions of players around the world year upon year.

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I'm speechless. How was this even necessary with the kind of money Take-Two are making from GTA Online? So much greed, it's never enough. https://t.co/KQRfVHiuSoMay 1, 2024

It's also worth noting that Take-Two purchased Borderlands studio Gearbox last month, opening a $460 million hole in its finances. That's a substantial figure, one that the company is likely to be looking to fill, but it remains in the context of the billions that Take-Two has made in recent years.

This all follows a games industry that's been rocked by a staggering number of layoffs over the last year. Microsoft made nearly 2,000 jobless earlier this year in January, while Sony made around 900 developers redundant, and game engine giant Unity cut 1,800 people earlier this year, roughly 25% of its work force. 

Meanwhile, Baldur's Gate 3's lead has told layoff-happy publishers to stop trying to "double" their money and instead "respect the people making the games."