SUMMARY
- 2K Games is an American video game publisher headquartered in Novato, California.
- 2K Games is a major publishing studio owned by Take-Two along with Rockstar Games.
The trailer announcement for WWE 2K24 created a wave of excitement among fans. The game published by 2K Games, is well-known for publishing games dedicated to various real-life sports. Featuring real-life athletes on their covers and in the games, 2K has made sure the games feel most relatable to players.
The publishers own multiple franchises under its banners such as WWE, NBA, PGA Tour, and The Golf Club, among several others. But an interesting fact that not many people are aware of is that 2K games also has a connection to the famous Grand Theft Auto game franchise.
Who are 2K Games?
2K Games is an American video game publisher headquartered in Novato, California. Although the studio was originally based in New York, it later moved to Novato in 2007 following a five-alarm fire. 2K Games has David Ismailer as the president and Phil Dixon as the Chief Operating Officer.
On January 24, 2005, Take-Two Interactive revealed that it had acquired Visual Concepts. Visual Concepts developed sports video game series such as NBA 2K, NHL 2K, and MLB 2K. Later, Take-Two gave Sega US$24 million for the studio, along with its Kush Games subsidiary. The deal also included the intellectual property of the 2K series.
The very next day, Take Two established the 2K publishing label. It consisted of two sub-labels, namely 2K Games and 2K Sports. Various Take-Two-owned subsidies including Visual Concepts, Kush Games, Indie Built, Venom Games, PopTop Software, and Frog City Software, became studios under the newly established label. The label also absorbed the staff of Take-Two Licensing.
Later in September 2007, a third sub-label named 2K Play, was started focusing on casual games. With this, Take-Two partnered with Nickelodeon to make games licensed on the latter’s TV shows. Notably, Take-Two is also the parent company of Rockstar Games, the developers of GTA. Take-Two owns only two major publishing labels, Rockstar Games and 2K.
Games made by 2K
2K Games has an impressive catalog of games including the NBA 2K series, the NHL 2K series, the WWE 2K series, and MLB 2K series.
The publisher currently has eight active franchises as follows:
- BioShock (since 2007)
- Borderlands (since 2009)
- Civilization (since 2005)
- Mafia (since 2010)
- X-COM (since 2012)
- NBA 2K (since 2005)
- PGA Tour 2K (since 2018)
- WWE 2K (since 2013)
Similarly, there are other game franchises that the publisher has discontinued due to multiple reasons. These include:
- College Hoops 2K (2005–2007)
- College Hoops 2K6
- College Hoops 2K7
- College Hoops 2K8
- MLB 2K (2005–2013)
- NHL 2K (2005–2014)
- Top Spin (2005–2011)
Apart from these, the publisher is also credited for standalone titles and lesser-known series which include Evolve, Sid Meirer’s Starships, The Darkness, Duke Nukem Forever, Sec Ops, Battleborn, Carnival Games, The Golf Club, Tiny Tina’s Wonderland, The Quarry, Marvel’s Midnight Suns, and LEGO 2K Drive.