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2K (company)

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2K
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryVideo games
FoundedJanuary 25, 2005; 19 years ago (2005-01-25) in New York City, U.S.
Headquarters
Novato, California
,
U.S.
Key people
  • David Ismailer (president)
  • Phil Dixon (COO)
  • Melissa Bell (SVP, head of global marketing)
Products
ParentTake-Two Interactive
SubsidiariesSee § Studios
Website2k.com

2K is an American video game publisher based in Novato, California. The company was founded as a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive in January 2005 through the 2K Games and 2K Sports sub-labels. The nascent label incorporated several development studios owned by Take-Two, including Visual Concepts and Kush Games, which had been acquired the day before. Originally based in New York City, 2K moved to Novato in 2007. A third label, 2K Play, was added in September 2007. 2K is governed by David Ismailer as president and Phil Dixon as chief operating officer. It operates a motion capture studio in Petaluma, California.[1]

History

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2K's original logo

On January 24, 2005, Take-Two Interactive announced its acquisition of Visual Concepts, the developer of sports video game series like NBA 2K, NHL 2K, and MLB 2K. Take-Two paid Sega US$24 million for the studio, including its Kush Games subsidiary and the intellectual property of the 2K series.[2][3] On the following day, the company established the 2K publishing label, consisting of the sub-labels 2K Games and 2K Sports, with the latter focusing on sports games.[4][5][6] Visual Concepts and Kush Games, alongside Indie Built, Venom Games, PopTop Software, and Frog City Software, became studios of the new label, which also absorbed the staff of Take-Two Licensing.[7] In January 2006, the administration and marketing portions of 2K's New York City offices were heavily damaged by a five-alarm fire.[8] In June 2007, the company closed these offices and relocated to Novato, California, bringing it closer to Visual Concepts.[9] A third sub-label, 2K Play, was established with a focus on casual games in September 2007, with Take-Two announcing a partnership with Nickelodeon for licensed games based on the latter's TV shows.[10][11] 2K Play therein also absorbed all assets of Take-Two's budget-range publisher Global Star Software, including the studio Cat Daddy Games, the game Carnival Games, and games based on Deal or No Deal.[12] In January 2013, 2K obtained the rights to publish video games based on the professional wrestling company WWE.[13]

Christoph Hartmann, 2K's president, announced his resignation in May 2017.[14] He had worked for Take-Two for roughly twenty years but did not state a reason for his departure.[15][16] He was succeeded by David Ismailer, previous chief operating officer (COO), later that month.[17][18] The COO role was filled by Phil Dixon, formerly of Betfair, in November 2017, while Melissa Bell was hired as senior vice president and head of global marketing in April 2018.[19] In September 2018, 2K announced 2K Foundations, a program that would "support underserved communities across the nation by refurbishing basketball courts in neighborhoods that need them the most". Microsoft partnered with 2K to establish gaming stations fitted with Xbox One S consoles at these courts. 2K Foundations planned to refurbish twelve basketball courts in several cities across the United States (including Cincinnati, Baltimore, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Cleveland) within its first year.[20][21]

In March 2021, 2K acquired HB Studios, which had previously developed The Golf Club 2019 featuring PGA Tour and PGA Tour 2K21 for the company. The acquisition includes the rights to the Golf Club series, which had been relaunched as the PGA Tour 2K series through a license from the PGA Tour.[22] Additionally, 2K announced it had secured a contract with Tiger Woods, who had previously been a key figure for Electronic Arts' PGA Tour series, as an executive director and consultant for future PGA Tour 2K games, as well as his likeness for the games.[23] Later that month, 2K bought HookBang's games division in Austin, Texas, which had supported work on the NBA 2K series in the past. The studio was relocated to a new Austin location and rebranded as Visual Concepts Austin.[24] In September 2022, 2K's customer support team was hacked, with certain user data stolen and put on sale.[25][26]

Studios

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Defunct

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Games published

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Main article: List of 2K games

Former

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2K Games Launcher

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2K released its own game launcher for computer users in 2022 atop quality of life updates to games in the BioShock series, which gave the player the ability to buy add on content for games. The addition of the launcher was criticized as it broke these games on Linux, including on the Steam Deck.[54] Future releases from 2K also used the launcher, and in the case of Marvel's Midnight Suns, players discovered the launcher was impacting the game's performance. [55]

By August 2024, 2K began to phase out the launcher, removing it from Civilization VI and assuring it would not be used in Civilization VII. [56] On November 18, 2024, 2K removed the launcher from every game that still had it on both Steam and Epic Games' storefronts.[57][58]

References

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  1. ^ Wagner, Kurt (September 16, 2016). "Here's what it's like to be scanned into an NBA video game". Vox. Archived from the original on August 16, 2019. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
  2. ^ Feldman, Curt (January 24, 2005). "Sega officially out of the sports game". GameSpot. Archived from the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
  3. ^ Adams, David (January 24, 2005). "Take Two Buys Visual Concepts". IGN. Archived from the original on June 2, 2019. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
  4. ^ a b Good, Owen (May 23, 2012). "A Terrible Decision Created MLB 2K—But It Also Brought Us BioShock". Kotaku. Archived from the original on August 27, 2019. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
  5. ^ Robinson, Jon (January 25, 2005). "Take-Two Opens 2K Games". IGN. Archived from the original on August 16, 2019. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
  6. ^ Winegarner, Beth (January 25, 2005). "Take-Two pitches new label; sports high on the agenda". GameSpot. Archived from the original on February 18, 2018. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
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  9. ^ Breckon, Nick (June 15, 2007). "2K Games Closes NYC Office, Heads West". Shacknews. Archived from the original on February 4, 2018. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
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  22. ^ Nunneley, Stephany (March 16, 2021). "2K signs exclusive PGA Tour deal with Tiger Woods, acquires PGA Tour 2K21 studio". VG247. Archived from the original on March 16, 2021. Retrieved March 16, 2021.
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  54. ^ https://www.pcgamer.com/2ks-quality-of-life-change-for-bioshock-is-that-linux-users-cant-play-it-anymore/
  55. ^ https://www.eurogamer.net/marvels-midnight-suns-pc-users-are-bypassing-the-2k-launcher-for-better-results
  56. ^ https://www.thegamer.com/civilization-6-7-gets-rid-of-2k-launcher/
  57. ^ https://support.2k.com/hc/en-us/articles/34845053169939--2K-Launcher-Complete-Sunset
  58. ^ https://www.ign.com/articles/the-2k-launcher-is-no-more-you-can-now-launch-2ks-pc-games-directly-in-steam
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