Here's why GTA 6 publisher announced 600 layoffs, $140m in canceled projects

In a surprising move, Grand Theft Auto (GTA 6) publisher Take-Two Interactive announced it’s laying off 5% (600) of its workforce and $140 million in canceled projects.

According to Bloomberg, Take-Two revealed in an end-of-business SEC filing a plan to save itself more than $165 million annually due to “reductions in its existing expense base and lowered projected expense growth for the coming years.”

In the process, it’ll incur up to $200 million in charges, the majority of which – up to $140 million – is related to the cancelation of projects, while another $25 million to $35 million is related to employee severance and related costs. Take-Two is also reducing its office space as part of the plan.

Back in February, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said that the company had “no current plans” to undergo layoffs. To see this turnaround is particularly galling, not least because in GTA 5, Take-Two owns one of the industry’s greatest cash-cows – Rockstar’s game has made at least $8.5 billion since its release in 2013.

A recent report suggested GTA 6 could be delayed from 2025 to 2026 due to a lag in development, and if nothing else, layoffs alone wouldn’t do much to help remedy the situation.

In March, Take-Two acquired Borderlands developer Gearbox for $460 million, and GTA 6 is expected to be one of the most successful games of all time. Regardless, it’s now contributing to the staggering number of layoffs hitting the video game industry following the pandemic boom, including at Microsoft, EA, Sony, Riot, and more.