Take-Two Acquires ‘Borderlands’ Developer Gearbox For $460 Million

New York-based video game holding company Take-Two Interactive Software is acquiring Borderlands developer Entertainment Company from Embracer Group for $460 million. According to a Take-Two release, the deal should close in June.

The acquisition makes sense, as Take-Two is the publisher of Gearbox’s Borderlands games. The companies are already collaborating on the next game in the hugely popular series, which was recently adapted as a live-action film set to hit theaters on August 9. The developer will operate as part of Take-Two’s 2K brand, where Gearbox Founder and CEO Randy Pitchford will continue to lead the unit.

In today’s announcement, Pitchford explained:

Joining forces with Take-Two Interactive and 2K will help Gearbox ascend to our next level. Take-Two and 2K have demonstrated repeatedly their commitment to our engine of generating creativity, happiness, and profit. We set the bar for interactive entertainment and achieved remarkable results with groundbreaking, record-setting games when we worked together at arm’s length as partners. I’m incredibly excited about what we can accomplish now that we’re fully aligned as one.

Embracer offloading Gearbox was telegraphed some time ago, as the company has been involved in a significant restructuring since a planned $2 billion investment partnership fell through last summer. Since then, the media giant has laid off large numbers of employees, closed studios, and sold its subsidiary Saber Interactive and all associated studios for $247 million.

With the acquisition, Take-Two will acquire the full Borderlands franchise as well as properties, including Homeworld, Risk of Rain, Brothers in Arms, and the iconic first-person shooter Duke Nukem. Take-Two and Gearbox already have a pipeline of six games they’re working on together: two from the Borderlands series, two from Homeworld, and at least one new title.

According to Take-Two chairman and CEO Strauss Zelnick:

This combination enhances the financial profile of our existing projects with Gearbox and unlocks the opportunity for us to drive increased long-term growth by leveraging the full resources of Take-Two across all of Gearbox’s exciting initiatives.