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Take-Two plans to gain access to the various game titles created by Gearbox, more than two years after its expensive acquisition of mobile game developer Zynga.
Video game company Take-Two has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Gearbox Entertainment, the creator of the popular Borderlands game franchise.
Take-Two plans to acquire Gearbox from Embracer Group in a $460m all-stock deal, consisting of newly issued shares of Take-Two common stock. The acquisition is expected to be completed during the first quarter of Take-Two’s fiscal year 2025 – which ends on 30 June 2024.
Take-Two said it plans to create a “fully integrated operational structure” with Gearbox and will gain access to its extensive portfolio of game franchises, including Borderlands, Homeworld, Risk of Rain and Duke Nukem. A feature film based on the Borderlands games is scheduled for release in theatres later this year.
Gearbox currently has six key projects in various stages of development, including five sequels to its existing game titles and one new intellectual property. Take-Two said there are also opportunities to invest in new projects and to expand Gearbox’s “proven franchises”.
Under the terms of the deal, Gearbox will operate as a studio within Take-Two’s 2K publishing label and will continue to be led by founder and CEO Randy Pitchford.
“Our acquisition of Gearbox is an exciting moment for Take-Two and will strengthen our industry-leading creative talent and portfolio of owned intellectual property, including the iconic Borderlands franchise,” said Take-Two CEO and chair Strauss Zelnick.
“This combination enhances the financial profile of our existing projects with Gearbox and unlocks the opportunity for us to drive increased long-term growth by leveraging the full resources of Take-Two across all of Gearbox’s exciting initiatives.”
Moving on from mobile?
The move to acquire Gearbox comes more than two years after Take-Two made an expensive leap into the mobile games market with its $12.7bn acquisition of Zynga. At the time, Take-Two said the deal would make it one of the largest and most diversified mobile game publishers in the industry.
Certain statistics sites claim mobile games remain a major and growing segment of the global gaming market. A report by Statista claims the mobile games market was worth an estimated $140.5bn in 2022 and will surpass $173.4bn by 2026.
But other reports are not so optimistic about the mobile gaming market – or Take-Two’s deal with Zynga. A report by Bloomberg in December 2023 claims Take-Two’s push into the mobile gaming market was “expensive and late” and that the market is in a shrinking state.
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