Take-Two Interactive

Lore & Background

The company owns two major publishing labels: Rockstar Games and 2K, while Zynga operates as a separate subsidiary following its acquisition in 2022. Take-Two created the Private Division label to support publishing from independent developers, though it sold the label in November 2024 to Annapurna Interactive. The company rebranded its existing 2K studio Irrational Games as Ghost Story Games, rather than forming a new label. The company acquired the developers Socialpoint, Playdots and Nordeus to establish itself in the mobile game market. The company also co-owns the NBA 2K League, a professional esports league jointly operated by the NBA and Take-Two Interactive. Take-Two's combined portfolio includes franchises such as BioShock, Borderlands, Civilization, Grand Theft Auto, Mafia, NBA 2K, WWE 2K, and Red Dead among others. As of April 2025, it is one of the largest publicly traded game companies globally with an estimated market cap of US$30–32 billion.

In Their Own Story

The fluorescent lights of the Take-Two office hummed over a conference table littered with printouts of alien anatomy charts and weapon schematics. A producer tapped a stylus against the glass, tracing the outline of a plasma cannon that had been iterated on for nine years. Across the table, a 3D Realms developer rubbed his eyes, half-expecting the meeting to dissolve into another round of restructuring. But the date on the calendar was real, the gold masters were pressed, and for the first time in a decade, Duke Nukem was going to a store shelf. The city outside the window was grey and indifferent to any of it. Somewhere in Austin, a server rack cooled down after a final build. The war was over. The paperwork was not.

Reader's Guide

The source article does not mention Duke Nukem Forever, 3D Realms, Gearbox Software, or any involvement with the Duke Nukem franchise. Therefore, any claims about Take-Two absorbing 3D Realms, Gearbox being a Take-Two affiliate, or Duke Nukem Forever being released under the Take-Two banner are not supported by the source.

Did You Know?

• Take-Two was co-founded by Ryan Brant and Mark E. Seremet in September 1993.
• Take-Two acquired BMG Interactive in March 1998, which gave it the Grand Theft Auto property.
• Take-Two's IPO on NASDAQ under ticker TTWO occurred on April 15, 1997.