Take-Two launches indie label with Obsidian, The Outsiders and Panache Digital onboard
Private Division will focus on high-end indie studios like those started by Patrice Désilets and Halo co-creator Marcus Lehto
Take-Two Interactive has established a new publishing label to serve an emerging wave of high-end independent studios.
Private Division will target studios working on more ambitious projects than those typically thought of as "indie." The label will leverage Take-Two's resources and expertise to help those projects become, "commercially successful on a global scale."
The label has launched with five games in its portfolio, one of which is Kerbal Space Program, which Take-Two acquired earlier this year. Kerbal is an outlier, however, as Private Division will otherwise focus on launching and building new IP with its partners.
The other projects on Private Division's books are Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey, the first game from Patrice Désilets' studio, Panache Digital; Project Wight from The Outsiders, the studio started by EA DICE alumni David Goldfarb and Ben Cousins; the debut game from Halo co-creator Marcus Lehto's studio V1 Interactive; and a new immersive RPG from Obsidian Entertainment, which will be led by Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky, the creative team responsible for Fallout.
"We have spent more than two years laying the groundwork for Private Division, building an experienced publishing team and signing projects with some the most respected and talented creative leaders in our industry," said Michael Worosz, SVP and head of independent publishing at Take-Two, in a statement.
"We see a growing number of independent studios in our industry creating high quality games based on new IP, and our focus is supporting these types of developers and projects, and ultimately bringing incredible experiences to gamers around the world."
Private Division is headquartered in New York City, with a second US office in Seattle and a European office in Munich, Germany. It is the third publishing label within Take-Two, alongside 2K and Rockstar Games.
We discussed the label and the strategy behind it in detail with Michael Worosz. You can find the article here.