Take-Two is closing the gaming studio Playdots, which created puzzle games like Two Dots and the recently released Apple Arcade title Garden Tails, according to Bloomberg. According to a New York Department of Labor notice, Take-Two will cut 65 jobs as a result of the closure beginning in January.
In a statement, Take-Two confirmed the decision to close the studio. According to spokesperson Alan Lewis, affected employees will be able to apply for other jobs at Zynga, which was recently acquired by Take-Two, and those who do not find new roles will be eligible for severance. Take-Two will continue to operate Two Dots through one of its Zynga studios, but the fate of other Playdots games, such as Garden Tails, is unknown, and Lewis declined to elaborate.
Take-Two paid $192 million in cash and stock to acquire Playdots in 2020. Take-Two touted how Playdots would strengthen its mobile portfolio in a press release, but that was before the company’s blockbuster deal for Zynga, which it completed in May. Take-Two intends to create lucrative free-to-play mobile titles with Zynga, leveraging its roster of well-known franchises such as Grand Theft Auto, NBA 2K, and Civilization, but Playdots will not be part of that long-term mobile strategy.
