Take-Two launches indie-focused Private Division label

Game publishing giant Take-Two Interactive has announced the founding of a new label, Private Division, which will focus on 'titles from top independent developers'.

One of the biggest names in game publishing, responsible for hit franchises including Grand Theft Auto, Borderlands, Sid Meier's Civilization, and BioShock, Take-Two Interactive was founded in 1993 and following its listing on the NASDAQ exchange in 1997 made its fortune through acquiring studios and publishing their titles: Over the years the company has purchased BMG Interactive, now known as Rockstar Games, Visual Concepts, Kush Games, Irrational Games, Firaxis, Social Point, and the rights to Infogrames' Civilization, Sega's ESPN 2K, and THQ's WWE wrestling franchises, to name but a few.

While its history is littered with big names, though, the company has recently been making overtures towards publishing titles from smaller companies. Back in June Take-Two announced the acquisition of space-'em-up Kerbal Space Program and its developer Squad, and now the company has announced an entire subsidiary which will be devoted to the acquisition and publication of indie titles: Private Division.

'We have spent more than two years laying the groundwork for Private Division, building an experienced publishing team and signing projects with some the most respected and talented creative leaders in our industry,' claims Michael Worosz, senior vice president and head of independent publishing at Take-Two. '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.'

The newly-formed company has confirmed it has a range of upcoming titles including the Making History Expansion bundle for Kerbal Space Program, Panache Digital Games' Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey, a role-playing title codenamed Project Wight from The Outsiders, another RPG from Obisdian Entertainment, and a sci-fi first-person shooter from V1 Interactive - a company founded by Halo co-creator Marcus Lehto.

The new company has not, however, indicated whether it has inherited Take-Two's freshly-announced requirement for all titles to include 'recurrent consumer spending' features - in other words, downloadable content, subscription services, in-game currency which can be acquired using real-world cash, and in-game advertising.