Take-Two quickly denies that it is one of the suitors that will acquire Gearbox after it was reportedly up for sale.
Just recently, Reuters and Bloomberg claimed that Embracer Group was considering putting Gearbox up for sale. It acquired the studio in 2021 in a deal worth up to $1.4 billion.
Reuters claims that Embracer received interest from third parties that are interested in purchasing the studio. These buyers are reportedly International gaming groups and already have access to Gearbox marketing materials.
Take-Two has good relationship with Gearbox due to its long-term publishing deal for Borderlands franchise and other titles. They were asked if they were interested in acquiring the studio during its AGM.
“We’ve had a long-term relationship with Gearbox of which we’re very proud,” CEO Strauss Zelnick said when asked if the company might be a Gearbox suitor. “They’re a wonderful company, they’ve delivered for us—not just Borderlands, but also Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands and other titles—and I’ve no doubt they’ll continue to be successful in the future.
“We’re thrilled that we have a long-term publishing relationship on these titles,” he added. “That publishing relationship exists without regard to the ultimate owner of Gearbox. But with regard to our potential interest, we don’t tend to speculate on potential transactions.”