After a feeling of optimism arose yesterday following the announcement of Take-Two's takeover of Gearbox Entertainment, this came to an abrupt end shortly afterwards. Several employees have apparently lost their jobs.
Yesterday we received news that the “Borderlands” makers from Gearbox Entertainment are about to… Takeover by Take-Two (“Red Dead Redemption” series). In the course of this, the development team officially confirmed the work a new part the popular shooter series. But for some employees the joy seems to have been short-lived, because like the colleagues from Insider gaming noticed, some people probably lost their jobs.
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More specifically, several Gearbox employees have written on social networks that they have since no longer employed by the studio be. Many employees were informed about this step just a few hours after Take-Two took over.
Exact number of layoffs unknown
“Following the exciting news of the merger of Take-Two Interactive and Gearbox Entertainment last night “Like many others, I received the unfortunate news this morning that my position is no longer needed,” said former Director of Online Engagement Chris Harada on LinkedIn.
His ex-colleague Jennifer Locke, who worked as a PR manager for the “Brothers in Arms” makers, wrote down X/Twitter: “Along with countless others, I have just been informed that I fired from Gearbox became. It has truly been a dream come true to work on this team and I am incredibly grateful for my time here.”
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Locke's colleague Jewels Verne, who worked as a senior user research investigator at Gearbox Entertainment, also commented X/Twitter and wrote there briefly and concisely: “I just lost my job.”
These are just a few of several reports of this type that have been published in the last few hours. It is unknown exactly how many people lost their jobs as a result of these job cuts. In 2022 should around 1300 people worked at Gearbox (via GamesIndustry). Insider Gaming has contacted Gearbox Entertainment and Take-Two for comment. So far, however, without success.
Our colleague Nicole Carpenter from Polygon recently commented on the recent layoffs. Like her on X/Twitter writes, the employees of are primarily affected by the job cuts Gearbox Publishing affected. As far as she knows, the studio was founded in 2019 not part of the deal been with Take-Two. However, Carpenter also does not know how many members of the team lost their jobs.
After almost 10,000 people from the games industry lost their jobs last year, this trend will continue unstoppably in 2024. Less than three months into the new year well over 8000 positions affected. Our colleagues have a complete overview of the 2024 layoffs Kotaku compiled.
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