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Take-Two is shutting down the developer of the puzzle game Two Dots

Take-Two is shutting down the developer of the puzzle game Two Dots

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Take-Two is closing down Playdots, and while it will keep supporting Two Dots, the future of other Playdots games isn’t clear

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A screenshot of Two Dots.
Although Playdots is going away, Two Dots will live on.
Image: Take-Two

Take-Two is shutting down the gaming studio Playdots, the creator of puzzle games like Two Dots and the just-released Apple Arcade title Garden Tails, as first reported by Bloomberg. Due to the closure, Take-Two will cut 65 jobs beginning in January, per a New York Department of Labor notice.

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.