Take-Two Acquires Mafia II Developer

Officials from publisher Take-Two Interactive have announced that the company has acquired Czech based developer Illusion Softworks, best known for the Hidden & Dangerous and Mafia franchises. The developer, which will be renamed as 2K Czech, is already working on Mafia II for Take-Two. Established in 1997, Illusion Softworks has two studios in Brno and Prague in the Czech Republic, with a total of around 200 employees. The two Hidden & Dangerous titles and the first Vietcong were published by Gathering of Developers, which was subsequently acquired by Take-Two. Since then both developer and publisher have continued to work closely, with 2K Czech CEO Petr Vochozka commenting: “We have an excellent working relationship with 2K Games and the utmost respect for them. We are pleased to become a 2K studio and are confident that this new partnership will strengthen our current and future projects”. "The acquisition of Illusion Softworks reflects our strategic focus on owning high-value intellectual property as we continue to expand our portfolio of triple-A titles," said Ben Feder, CEO of Take-Two. Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K, said: "Adding 2K Czech to our network of development studios demonstrates our strong commitment to creating great franchises and building world-class creative teams. The 2K Czech team is responsible for several very innovative and highly-regarded franchises and we look forward to continuing to develop new and existing IP together."