Business deals aren’t an “unknowable thing” in the gaming space, as they’ve been happening since the first gaming boom back in the 1970s and 80s. Companies want to grow, merge, acquire, and “enhance themselves,” and so those in power, or those with money, aren’t afraid to make deals to get it to happen. Of course, at times, that has backfired heavily and even led to a certain “Crash of ’83.” Fast forward to now, and we’ve had a mini-crash of sorts due to certain purchases of key publishers and developers. However, Take-Two Interactive has not been one of them, and a new record has been bestowed upon them as a result.
If you don’t recall, EA, Electronics Arts, has officially entered a deal to be bought out by private companies owned by Saudi Arabia and controversial politician and businessman Jared Kushner. The deal is for $55 billion.
This, naturally, turns EA into a private company, and that is raising many “red flags” for many, especially since apparently a lot of debt was acquired to try to make this deal happen. Regardless of what happens with them, this gives Take-Two Interactive a unique honor, as it’s now the largest independent video game publisher out there.
Kind of makes you think, doesn’t it? The publisher has been doing great work across numerous companies and titles, and yet, you wouldn’t think that they are as big as EA or other publishers were. Think about their successes just in recent times, though. Earlier this year, they had Civilization VII from Firaxis, which remains a fan-favorite series. Then, just a few weeks ago, Gearbox Software released Borderlands 4, which sold 2.5 million units in just a few days.
Finally, and most obviously, Rockstar Games has been bringing in the money for decades thanks to their beloved crime franchise. Just as important, the upcoming 6th entry in the series is going to set off all sorts of gaming records, including possibly making billions in just a few days. It’s the biggest gaming release of 2026, and we only know of a few confirmed titles for 2026 right now…yet it doesn’t matter.
One could argue that because of this success, others, including groups from Saudi Arabia, may be interested in trying to get their hands on Take-Two and control it. However, as the tweet above noted, they’ve rejected such offers in the past, and if we’re lucky, they’re going to continue doing that.
