Take-Two is buying Gearbox, the studio behind Borderlands, for nearly half a billion dollars

Take-Two has agreed with Embracer Group to acquire Gearbox Interactive, the studio behind the Borderlands franchise, for $460 million. The news comes in the context of the Borderlands story being adapted into a big screen production, which is set to be released this year on August 9th, so it may surprise some, but it seems that this sale has been in the works for a long time.

When the deal is completed, Take-Two will not only have the Borderlands and Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands franchises to choose from, but will also have Homeworld, Risk of Rain, Brothers in Arms and Duke Nukem titles in its portfolio. The formalization of the agreement is expected to take place sometime in the first fiscal quarter of 2024-2025, i.e. by June 2024. Included in the transaction are three Gearbox studios – Gearbox Software (Frisco, Texas), Gearbox Montréal and Gearbox Studio Quebec.

Gearbox founder Randy Pitchford said that “joining forces with Take-Two Interactive / 2K will help Gearbox take it to the next level.” In a statement to BusinessWire, 2K president David Ismailer confirmed that Gearbox and 2K are already working on the next title in the Borderlands series.

However, several groups will remain in Embracer’s possession after this transaction. These are Gearbox Publishing San Francisco (which will be renamed before the deal closes), which includes the publishing rights to the Remnant franchise and an upcoming game called Hyper Light Breaker, Cryptic Studios, which handles MMO titles like Neverwinter Online and Star Trek Online, Lost Boys Interactive and Captured Dimensions. Embracer originally bought Gearbox in 2021 for $363 million, and its sale is part of a massive restructuring program taking place within the group.