‘Take-Two tried to hijack all the developers of Kerbal Space Program 2’
Publisher Take-Two is said to have tried to hijack all developers who worked at Star Theory on Kerbal Space Program 2. Take-Two has set up a new studio to finish the game, while the original Star Theory studio has since gone bankrupt.
The employees received a message via LinkedIn in early December whether they wanted to apply for a job at Take-Two to continue working on Kerbal Space Program 2, writes financial news agency Bloomberg based on conversations with former employees of Star Theory. It wasn’t until a few days later that they were told by the top of Star Theory that the contract had been terminated and that Take-Two’s Star Theory would no longer be allowed to develop Kerbal Space Program 2.
The studio is said to have discussed royalties with Take-Two, but the companies were unable to agree. They would also have talked about a takeover, but it did not happen. According to insiders, half of Star Theory’s staff now work for the new studio of Take-Two: Intercept Games. It had been known for some time that it would continue the development of the game. Star Theory went bankrupt in March.
Kerbal Space Program 2 is now scheduled for fall 2021. Take-Two has not responded to Bloomberg’s story. The first version of Kerbal Space Program was created by the studio Squad. The game was released in 2015 and has sold more than 3.5 million copies. Part 2 is more comprehensive, features a new interface, enables interstellar travel and will get multiplayer support, it promises.
Watch back: video preview Kerbal Space Program 2