Take-Two laid off the head its AI division and an undisclosed number of staff

Take-Two, owner of Grand Theft Auto developer Rockstar Games, has apparently fired the head of its AI division, Luke Dicken, and several staff members working under him. “It’s really disappointing to have to announce that my time at T2 – and that of my team – is over,” Dicken shared in a LinkedIn post spotted by Game developer.

When asked to confirm the layoffs in its AI division, Take-Two declined to comment.

Dicken writes that his team was “developing cutting-edge technology to support game development” and his post specifically states that he is trying to find positions for staff with experience in areas such as “procedural content of games” and “machine learning.” It’s unclear how many people other than Dicken were affected by these layoffs, but the timing seems a bit unusual for Take-Two.

Like some other major game publishers, Take-Two has “actively adopted” generative AI tools to “increase efficiency” and “reduce costs.” Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Take-Two, even touted AI as having a positive effect on employment, noting that generative AI “won’t reduce employment, it will increase it” because “technology always increases productivity, which in turn increases GDP, which in turn increases employment.”

It’s too early to characterize these layoffs as some sort of tide turning against AI – like other major video game companies, Take-Two is also making numerous layoffs – but it’s interesting that they’re happening now, as the company accelerates toward the release of Grand Theft Auto VI. The sequel is expected to be a big success, which should give Take-Two plenty of financial room to experiment with new technologies.