Take-Two To Shut Down Major Gaming Studio In A Surprise Move; Closure To Cost 65 Jobs

Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc TTWO shared its plans to shut down the New York-based studio behind the popular mobile game Dots.
The closure will eliminate 65 jobs, Bloomberg reported.
Best known for its Grand Theft Auto franchise, Take-Two acquired Playdots for $192 million in 2020.
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Playdots developed four mobile games, including Dots, which users played more than 25 million times within the first months of release. Its sequel, Two Dots, has been downloaded over 50 million times in the Google Play Store.
Take-Two acquired mobile-game maker Zynga in May in a deal valued at $11 billion. Two Dots’ operations will continue at another Zynga studio.
Playdots employees will get the opportunity to apply for other jobs at Zynga, and those who do not find new roles will be eligible to receive severance.
In August, Meta Platforms Inc META Facebook shared plans to close down its Facebook Gaming app after failing to gain a foothold in the live game streaming market.
Facebook launched the Gaming app more than two years ago as the pandemic triggered a videogame boom.
Alphabet Inc GOOG GOOGL Google disclosed plans to shut down its consumer gaming service, Stadia, as it failed to gain traction.
Price Action: TTWO shares closed higher by 0.07% at $118.78 on the last check Friday.