Kerbal Space Program 2 feared cancelled as 70 layoffs reported at Take-Two's Seattle offices

Last month, GTA 6 publishers Take-Two Interactive announced plans to "rationalize" their "pipeline" by laying off five per cent of their workforce - around 580 people - and cancelling various games. As part of that, they're reportedly now doing away with 70 positions at their Seattle offices - Seattle being the home of the Take-Two-owned Intercept Games, the current developers of space sim Kerbal Space Program 2.

Following the publication of a Washington State closure announcement, people from Intercept have begun posting on social media about losing their jobs, while Intercept's job page appears to have been taken offline. "On 16th April, 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," a Take-Two spokesperson told GamesIndustry.biz when approached for comment about the layoff notice.

"As part of these efforts, the company is rationalising its pipeline and eliminating several projects in development and streamlining its organisational structure, which will eliminate headcount and reduce future hiring needs," the statement continues. "The company is not providing additional details on this program."

Kerbal Space Program 2 has already weathered some pretty tough seasons. The project began life at Star Theory Games, formerly Uber Entertainment, with the blessing and assistance of original Kerbal developer Squad. Star Theory shut down after the game's publisher, Take-Two subsidiary Private Division, cancelled their contract in 2020. Private Division then founded Intercept Games, poaching staff from the collapsing Star Theory in the process, to continue working on the game, which saw many delays over the pandemic period - it eventually released into early access in February 2023.

Players were none too impressed by KSP2 initially - our own Steve Hogarty described it as "a catastrophic reentry", observing that even if you ignore the launch bugs, "this space exploration sim still falls way short of its ambitions". But the game's Steam reception has improved a little over time, especially following the launch of the For Science! Update last December.

Last Thursday, creative director Nate Simpson shared a development blog post about the forthcoming Colonies update. Who knows whether it's still in the works, but the project has yet to be formally cancelled: a Private Division spokesperson told Game Developer today that "the label continues to make updates to Kerbal Space Program 2".

Best of luck to everybody at Take-Two facing redundancy right now.