'Grand Theft Auto' and 'NBA 2K' Publisher Announces New Gaming Label, Private Division

A fact most casual video game users might be unaware of is that three franchises as radically different as “Grand Theft Auto,” “NBA 2K” and “Borderlands” come from the same parent company. Take-Two Interactive is a large video game publisher that owns and runs separate publishing labels 2K and Rockstar Games, which both release different kinds of games under those distinct labels.

This week, Take-Two is splitting some of its upcoming projects into a new, third label called Private Division.

Reported by GamesIndustry.biz, Private Division is designed with a focus on “high-end indie studios,” or in other words, games that are larger in scale and scope than small indie projects, but also not as expensive to produce as a blockbuster title like “Grand Theft Auto.” The only available game in the Private Division current lineup is “Kerbal Space Program,” a hardcore simulation game that uses realistic physics models to build spacecraft for little cartoon people. Developed by Squad in Mexico, Take-Two acquired “Kerbal Space Program” earlier this year.

Take-Two released a video detailing the announcement, featuring interviews from some of its developers.

The other four projects under Private Divison’s belt are a bit further off from seeing daylight:

• “Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey,” a new game from “Assassin’s Creed” creator Patrice Désilets about survival in prehistoric Africa.

• “Project Wight,” an alternate history game about Vikings and monsters from former “Battlefield” and “Payday 2” developers.

• An untitled game from V1 Interactive, a new studio from former “Halo” creative mind Marcus Lehto.

• A new “immersive RPG” from Obsidian Entertainment, made by former “Fallout” developers.

This third pillar of Take-Two Interactive’s publishing operation will attempt to hit a corner of the gaming market the massive corporation has not dealt with much up to this point.

On one hand, the 2K Games label is mostly applied to annual top-selling sports games like “NBA 2K” and “WWE 2K,” as well as big franchises like “BioShock” and “Mafia.”

Meanwhile, Rockstar Games deals almost exclusively in “Grand Theft Auto” and anything adjacent to it, like “Red Dead Redemption.” Private Division, according to a statement from Take-Two SVP Michael Worosz, will focus more on new properties from smaller studios.

"We see a growing number of independent studios in our industry creating high quality games based on new IP, and our focus is supporting these types of developers and projects, and ultimately bringing incredible experiences to gamers around the world,” Worosz said.

Amid rising budgets for the biggest blockbuster video games, there has been talk of finding a middle ground between those and the tiny indie games that are becoming more prevalent and numerous.