Kerbal Space Program 2 studio’s future unclear as Take-Two makes layoffs

The future of Kerbal Space Program 2 studio Intercept Games appears uncertain amid ongoing restructuring at owner Take-Two Interactive.

Last month, Take-Two announced plans to lay off around 5% of its workforce, or around 600 people, as part of cost-cutting measures that would also result in the cancellation of unnamed game projects.

A Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) filed in Washington this week revealed that Take-Two is planning an office closure in June, which will see 70 jobs cut.

Kerbal Space Program developer Intercept Games, an internal development studio of Take-Two publishing label Private Division, is based in Seattle.

On the day the WARN notification was filed, Private Division online systems engineer Wesley Thompson wrote on X that he’d been laid off from the company, where he “primarily did telemetry and service based coding for KSP2 and various other Private Division titles”.

A spokesperson for Take-Two told Game Developer: “On April 16th, Take-Two announced a cost reduction program to identify efficiencies across its business and to enhance the Company’s margin profile, while still investing for growth.

“As part of these efforts, the Company is rationalizing its pipeline and eliminating several projects in development and streamlining its organizational structure, which will eliminate headcount and reduce future hiring needs. The Company is not providing additional details on this program.

“On April 18th Private Division successfully launched Moon Studio’s No Rest for the Wicked,” the statement continued.

“The label continues to make updates to Kerbal Space Program 2 and plans to release Wētā Workshop Game Studio’s Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Game in the second half of 2024.”

Pressed on the current status of Intercept Games, Take-Two told Game Developer is has “nothing further to note.”