Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (aka Take-Two or Take2) is a game studio headquartered in New York City. Its two major publishing labels are Rockstar Games (best known for Grand Theft Auto and Max Payne) and 2K Games (with studios behind the BioShock series and Civilization). Many of their games are skewed toward older teens and adult gamers, and the levels of violence in some of them have generated no shortage of controversy (including the attention of former attorney Jack Thompson, who has been the company's most visible and vocal critic ever since the release of GTA III).
2K in particular is a great example of Vindicated by History. It is the successor to the Sega development studio Visual Concepts, which developed the insanely popular NBA 2K series. One of the biggest games on the Sega Dreamcast, it was one of Sega's first titles as a third-party developer, and eventually defeated EA Sports in the basketball video game department.
The company introduced an additional publishing label, Private Division, in late 2018, with the goal of bridging the gap between indie development teams and AAA publishers through its releases. Its first release was an Updated Re-release of indie darling Kerbal Space Program.
On January 10, 2022, Take-Two announced that they would acquire mobile game developer Zynga for $12.7 billion. This was the largest video game acquisition for all of one week, when Xbox Game Studios announced they would acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion.
Games published/developed by 2K Games:
- 2K Sports:
- Major League Baseball 2K
- NBA 2K
- NBA 2K Playgrounds 2
- NFL 2K (Until EA obtained the exclusive rights to the NFL, it was originally set to return in some form during the 2022 calendar year before being delayed)
- All-Pro Football 2K8
- NHL 2K (Ditto, minus the planned return as of this writing)
- PGA Tour 2K (Began with the 2018 release of The Golf Club 2019: Featuring The PGA Tour, was re-branded to PGA Tour 2K beginning with the 2020 release of PGA Tour 2K21)
- WWE 2K (developed by Yuke's and Visual Concepts)
- Battleborn (developed by Gearbox Software) (2016)
- BioShock series:
- BioShock (developed by Irrational Games) (2007)
- BioShock 2 (2010)
- BioShock Infinite (developed by Irrational Games) (2013)
- Borderlands (developed by Gearbox Software)
- Borderlands 2 (ditto)
- Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel!
- Tales from the Borderlands (initially published by Telltale Games in partnership with 2K, later reacquired by 2K)
- Borderlands 3
- Tiny Tina's Wonderlands
- New Tales from the Borderlands
- Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth (2005)
- Carnival Games
- Civilization series:
- Civilization III (Mac version)
- Civilization IV
- Civilization V
- Civilization: Beyond Earth
- Civilization VI
- The Darkness (2007) and The Darkness II (developed by Starbreeze Studios) (2012)
- Duke Nukem Forever (Saved from Development Hell by Gearbox Software) (2011)
- Evolve (developed by Turtle Rock Studios) (2015)
- Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)
- Ghost Rider (2007)
- LEGO 2K Drive (2023)
- Mafia series:
- Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven (developed by Illusion Softworks) (2002)
- Mafia II (developed by Illusion Softworks) (2010)
- Mafia III (developed by Hangar 13) (2016)
- Midnight Suns (developed by Firaxis Games) (2022)
- Nicktoons MLB (developed by High Voltage Software)
- The Quarry (developed by Supermassive Games) (2022)
- Serious Sam
- Sid Meier's Pirates! (2004)
- Stronghold (all developed by Firefly Studios)
- Stronghold (2001)
- Stronghold Crusader (2002)
- Stronghold 2 (2005)
- Stronghold Legends (2006)
- Stronghold 3 (2011)
- Stronghold Crusader 2 (2014)
- Stronghold Warlords (2020)
- X-COM franchise:
- XCOM: Enemy Unknown (developed by Firaxis Games) (2012)
- The Bureau: XCOM Declassified (2013)
- XCOM 2 (developed by Firaxis Games) (2016)
Games published/developed by Rockstar Games:
- Bully (2006)
- Grand Theft Auto (Rockstar's most well-known and flagship franchise. Also causes a shit ton of controversies along the way).
- Grand Theft Auto (Classic) (1997)
- Grand Theft Auto: London 1969 (1999)
- Grand Theft Auto: London 1961 (1999)
- Grand Theft Auto 2 (1999)
- Grand Theft Auto III (2001)
- Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002)
- Grand Theft Auto Advance (2004)
- Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004)
- Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (2005)
- Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (2006)
- Grand Theft Auto IV (2008)
- Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned (2009)
- Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony (2009)
- Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (2009)
- Grand Theft Auto V (2013)
- Grand Theft Auto Online (2013)
- L.A. Noire (developed by Team Bondi) (2011)
- Lemmings (from back when Rockstar North was known as DMA Design. It seems they lost the license when they went from being an independent company to being a subsidiary of Take-Two)
- Manhunt (2003) and Manhunt 2 (notable for being the first videogame that received an Adults Only rating for violence alone) (2008)
- Max Payne
- Max Payne (developed by Remedy Entertainment) (2001)
- Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne (developed by Remedy Entertainment) (2003)
- Max Payne 3 (2012)
- Midnight Club
- Midnight Club: Street Racing
- Midnight Club 2
- Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition
- Midnight Club: Los Angeles
- Oni (developed by Bungie) (2001)
- Red Dead
- Red Dead Revolver (2004)
- Red Dead Redemption (2010)
- Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare (2010)
- Red Dead Redemption II (2018)
- Rune (Europe) (developed by Human Head Studios) (2000)
- Smuggler's Run
- State of Emergency (first game only; the sequel was published by SouthPeak Games)
- Treasure Planet: Battle at Procyon (Developed by Barking Dog Studios, which was later acquired by Take-Two and renamed Rockstar Vancouver) (2002)
- The Warriors - based on the
Cult Classic film. (2005) - Wild Metal Country (1999)
Games published by Private Division:
- Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey (developed by Panache Digital, a studio helmed by Assassin's Creed co-creator Patrice Désilets) (2019)
- Disintegration (developed by V1 Interactive) (2020)
- Kerbal Space Program: Enhanced Edition (developed by Squad) (2015; bought by Take-Two in 2017)
- OlliOlli World (2022)
- The Outer Worlds (developed by Obsidian Entertainment) (2019)
- Rollerdrome (2022)
Other Take-Two Games and Franchises
- Black Dahlia (1998)
- Dragon City (developed and published by Socialpoint, who were later acquired by Take-Two) (2012)
- Freedom Force (Developed by Irrational Games who would later become 2K Boston and create BioShock before becoming Irrational again.)
- The Great Escape (published under the Gotham Games label) (2003)
- Hidden & Dangerous
- Martian Gothic Unification (2000)
- Ripper (1996)
- Scaler (Developed by Artificial Mind and Movement and published under the Global Star Software label) (2004)
- Siege of Avalon (published under the Global Star Software label) (2001)
- Space Station Silicon Valley (1998)
- Spec Ops
- Spec Ops: The Line was published in 2012 by 2K Games.
- SWAT 4, by way of being an Irrational Games title (originally published by Sierra while it still existed) (2005)
- Vietcong (Original game published by Gathering of Developers, sequel published by 2K Games)
