A major role cut has happened at T2 Interactive, Rockstar’s parent company. The development was revealed by former Head of AI at the company, Luke Dicken, through a LinkedIn post. The number of people impacted and the reason for the cut remain unclear.
Take2 Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick
“It’s truly disappointing that I have to share with you that my time with T2 – and that of my team – has come to an end,” wrote Dicken in the post published this week.
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“We’ve been developing cutting edge technology to support game development now for 7 years. These folks know how to match innovation and novel problem-solving approaches with strong product design chops to create systems that empower people throughout the development workflow.”
Dicken said he would share “a more reflective post” about his time at Zynga and T2 Interactive in the coming week or so. Acknowledging how difficult landing a new role was in the current climate, he solicited the help of his LinkedIn connection to find new roles for members of his team.
Those impacted worked across different roles, including procedural content for games, machine learning, tools engineering and frontend for PCG/ML techniques, DevOps, operations, production, and project management.
The gaming industry continues to face massive restructuring, with some studios pivoting to the use of AI tools. Game developers have been on the receiving end of the restructuring’s impact. Thousands of employees have already been laid off this year. One of the deepest cuts so far is the 1,000 from Epic Games.
In 2024, T2 Interactive laid off 5% of its workforce and cancelled several projects that were under development. The recent layoff may be related to T2 Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick’s recent comment that AI cannot produce a game like GTA 6.
Do you think the recent cut at T2 Interactive is a sign that the company is scaling back its AI strategy? Share your thoughts in the comment box below.
