Take-Two Reorganizes Its AI Division
The head of the AI division at Take-Two Interactive has reportedly been let go, along with several other team members focused on AI initiatives within the company, which is known for franchises like Rockstar Games, 2K, and Zynga. This restructuring comes despite the CEO’s previous statements about the company’s commitment to generative AI.
Luke Dicken, who took the reins of Take-Two’s AI efforts in early 2025 after a decade at Zynga, expressed his disappointment on LinkedIn, stating, “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.” He emphasized the team’s seven years of work developing cutting-edge technology to enhance game development, highlighting their ability to blend innovation with strong design skills to create systems that support the development process.
Much of the AI team at Take-Two was formed from Zynga’s existing applied AI department, which the company acquired in 2022 for $12.7 billion. However, the collaboration has faced challenges in producing new successful titles. Many of Dicken’s industry peers expressed their surprise at the layoffs.
Take-Two has not provided any comments on the situation.
Last month, the company attempted to clarify its stance on tools like Google’s Genie after its stock took a hit due to investor concerns that generative AI could enable anyone to create high-quality games without large development teams. Take-Two’s president stated, “Genie is early in its iteration at this point and trying to make a comparison to a game engine is just really—they’re not even in the same ballpark. Genie is not a game engine.”
While the CEO has consistently downplayed the notion that generative AI could produce the next Grand Theft Auto, he recently affirmed the company’s commitment to exploring how this technology can be integrated into game development. “As it happens now, we’re actively embracing generative AI,” he mentioned during a recent investor call. “We have hundreds of pilots and implementations across our company, including with our studios, and we are seeing opportunities to drive efficiencies, reduce costs, and create the opportunity to do what digital technology has always allowed, which is, mundane tasks become easier and less relevant, which frees up our creators to do the more interesting tasks of making superb entertainment.”
However, the industry’s growing interest in AI has also led to pushback from players. Nvidia faced backlash in March when it announced that its upcoming DLSS 5 graphics technology would negatively impact NPCs in popular games. Even Arc Raiders, which achieved significant sales and critical acclaim despite using AI-generated voices for NPCs, has begun replacing those artificial voices with recordings from real actors.
