Take-Two confirmed the decision to shut down the studio in a statement to The Verge. Affected employees will be able to apply for other jobs at Zynga, which was recently acquired by Take-Two, and people who don’t find new roles will be eligible for severance, according to spokesperson Alan Lewis. Take-Two will continue to operate Two Dots through one of its Zynga studios, but the future of other Playdots games like Garden Tails is unclear, and Lewis declined to elaborate further.
Take-Two acquired Playdots in 2020 in a cash and stock deal worth $192 million. In a press release, Take-Two touted how Playdots would strengthen its mobile portfolio, but that was before the company’s blockbuster deal for Zynga, which it completed in May. With Zynga, Take-Two wants to make lucrative free-to-play mobile titles using its roster of well-known franchises like Grand Theft Auto, NBA 2K, and Civilization, but Playdots won’t be part of that long-term mobile strategy.
