# 2K (company)

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.

## History

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. 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. 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. In January 2006, the administration and marketing portions of 2K's New York City offices were heavily damaged by a five-alarm fire. In June 2007, the company closed these offices and relocated to Novato, California, bringing it closer to Visual Concepts. 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. 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. In January 2013, 2K obtained the rights to publish video games based on the professional wrestling company WWE.
Christoph Hartmann, 2K's president, announced his resignation in May 2017. He had worked for Take-Two for roughly twenty years but did not state a reason for his departure. He was succeeded by David Ismailer, previous chief operating officer (COO), later that month. 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. 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.
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. 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. 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. In September 2022, 2K's customer support team was hacked, with certain user data stolen and put on sale.

## Studios

* 2K Madrid in Madrid, Spain; founded in June 2021.
* 2K Chengdu in Chengdu, China; founded in June 2011.
* 2K Sports Lab in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; founded in October 2023.
* 2K Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.; founded in 2006 as 2K West, rebranded in 2013.
* 2K Valencia in Valencia, Spain; founded in 2005 as Elite3D; acquired in November 2021.
* 31st Union in San Mateo, California, U.S. and Valencia, Spain; founded in 2019 as 2K Silicon Valley, rebranded in 2020.
* Cat Daddy Games in Kirkland, Washington, U.S.; founded in 1996, acquired in 2003.
* Cloud Chamber in Novato, California, U.S. and Montreal, Canada; founded in 2019.
* Firaxis Games in Hunt Valley, Maryland, U.S.; founded in 1996, acquired in 2005.
* Hangar 13 in Novato, California, U.S., Brno and Prague, Czech Republic, and Brighton, England; founded in 2014.
* HB Studios in Lunenberg, Nova Scotia, Canada; founded in 2000, acquired in 2021.
* Visual Concepts in Novato, California, U.S.; founded in 1988, acquired in 2005.
* Gearbox Software in Frisco, Texas, U.S.; founded in 1999, acquired in 2024.
** Gearbox Studio Montreal in Montreal, Canada; acquired in 2024.
** Gearbox Studio Québec in Québec City, Canada; acquired in 2024.
* Mass Media in Moorpark, California, U.S.; founded in the 1980s, acquired in 2018.

### Defunct

* 2K Australia in Canberra, Australia; founded in 2000, acquired in 2006, closed in 2015.
* 2K China in Shanghai, China; founded in May 2006, closed in November 2015.
* 2K Czech in Brno, Czech Republic; founded in 1997, acquired in 2008, merged into Hangar 13 in 2017.
* 2K Hangzhou in Hangzhou, China; founded in 2007, closed in November 2016.
* 2K Los Angeles in Camarillo, California, U.S.; founded as Kush Games in 1998, acquired in 2005, closed in 2008.
* 2K Marin in Novato, California, U.S.; founded in 2007, closed in 2013.
* Frog City Software in San Francisco, U.S.; founded in 1994, acquired in 2003, closed in 2006.
* Indie Built in Salt Lake City, U.S.; founded as Access Software in 1982, acquired and renamed in 2004, closed in 2006.
* Irrational Games in Westwood, Massachusetts, U.S.; founded in 1997, acquired in 2006, closed in 2017 and succeeded by Ghost Story Games.
* PAM Development in Paris, France; founded in 1995, acquired in 2005, closed in 2008.
* PopTop Software in Fenton, Missouri, U.S.; founded in 1993, acquired in 2000, merged into Firaxis Games in 2006.
* Venom Games in Newcastle upon Tyne, England; founded in 2003, acquired in 2004, closed in 2008.

## Games published

* 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)
* Top Spin (2005–2011, since 2024)

### Former

* College Hoops 2K (2005–2007)
** College Hoops 2K6
** College Hoops 2K7
** College Hoops 2K8
* MLB 2K (2005–2013)
* NHL 2K (2005–2014)

### 2K Games Launcher

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. 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.
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. On November 18, 2024, 2K removed the launcher from every game that still had it on both Steam and Epic Games' storefronts.