Who Makes 2K?

The Short Answer: Take-Two Interactive and its 2K Subsidiary

As a passionate gamer myself, I‘ve sunk countless hours into franchises like NBA 2K, Borderlands and Civilization. But I didn‘t always know the company and key developers behind these major series.

So who makes 2K‘s growing library of popular games? 2K itself was founded in 2005 as a subsidiary of industry giant Take-Two Interactive.

Take-Two established 2K after acquiring developer Visual Concepts that same year. Visual Concepts was best known then for their work on SEGA‘s NBA and NFL sports titles.

Operating under Take-Two, 2K serves as the publisher for titles from Take-Two‘s growing collection of studios and developers. Their portfolio now includes million-selling franchises spanning AAA blockbusters to niche indies across numerous genres and consoles.

Let‘s dive deeper into the history, key developers, and franchises of the publishers behind NBA 2K, Borderlands, Mafia and many more of the games we know and love.

From Humble Beginnings: The Early Days of Take-Two, Visual Concepts and 2K

While 2K as we know it today was established in 2005, its owner Take-Two has been around since 1993 when founder Ryan Brant first established the company as a video game holding corporation.

Early Take-Two published titles that remain influential in gaming history such as the original Grand Theft Auto in 1997. Following GTA‘s breakout success, Take-Two acquired notable developers like Rockstar Games and Firaxis over the coming years to expand their portfolio of studios and franchises.

Meanwhile, Visual Concepts was making a name for themselves working closely with SEGA on basketball titles like NBA 2K. As an avid NBA fan, I still remember the excitement of those early NBA 2K releases revolutionizing sports sims on the Dreamcast.

Recognizing this pedigree in the sports genre, Take-Two purchased Visual Concepts in 2005 as part of their initiative to expand their publishing capabilities into new game genres and audiences.

Now a subsidiary of industry juggernaut Take-Two, the newly formed 2K hit the ground running in this new generation of consoles.

Expanding Genres and Audience Reach with Signature Franchises

Leveraging the experience Take-Two gained publishing earlier smash hits like GTA, 2K wasted no time establishing new franchises that would capture fans across genres and consoles.

Just a few short years after its 2005 founding, 2K was already expanding beyond sports to deliver blockbusters appealing to RPG, shooter and strategy fans:

Expanding beyond their bread-and-butter basketball simulation games, 2K was clearly following in the footsteps of parent company Take-Two to diversify their selection of games reaching across multiple genres, consoles and audiences.

While 2K would serve as publishers for these titles, development and creative work would be handled by the studios underneath their umbrella. So let‘s take a look behind the scenes at some of the talented teams bringing franchises like Borderlands, BioShock and NBA 2K to life year after year.

Who‘s Making the Games? Key Developers Behind 2K‘s Biggest Hits

Visual Concepts – The Veterans Behind NBA 2K

As 2K‘s very first internal studio under the 2005 Take-Two acquisition, Visual Concepts plays a major role in publishing operations even as they continue to focus development efforts on expanding the NBA 2K series.

Along with developing new NBA 2K titles on the latest hardware, Visual Concepts provides support for many other 2K projects across studios. With their pioneering background developing early basketball and football titles for SEGA consoles, it‘s no wonder Visual Concepts has maintained their reputation as industry leaders when it comes to crafting realistic sports simulation gameplay. Their first release under 2K also kicked off what some (including myself) consider the definitive basketball gaming franchise in NBA 2K6.

For fellow hoops fans, it‘s hard not to love the consistency and gradual improvements we‘ve seen year after year from the team at Visual Concepts. With deep simulation mechanics, presentation and game modes that capture the full essence of pro basketball — NBA 2K serves for many as a virtual companion to the real NBA season.

Firaxis Games – The Brains Behind Strategy Hits Civilization and XCOM

While publishing reliable annual basketball titles keeps gamers like myself coming back year after year, 2K has another stalwart franchise that proves mass appeal in a completely different genre — deep turn-based strategy via Firaxis‘ Civilization series.

Initially acquired by Take-Two in 2005, Firaxis may fly more under the radar than AAA shooter or sports franchises. But global sales of their intellectually-satisfying Civilization series recently surpassed 65 million copies. With installments spanning the eras of human history, the series allows gamers to guide a chosen nation from the stone ages up to potential space colonization. Offering endless replay potential thanks to randomly generated maps/challenges and limitless mod support from a dedicated community, Civilization stands tall among the best examples of how creativity and innovation keeps strategy fans engaged for the long haul.

Firaxis has also brought their tactical mastery into the realm of alien invasions in reinforcing XCOM as another pillar franchise under 2K‘s portfolio. Letting players command an elite paramilitary force defending earth, XCOM couples white-knuckle turn-based combat with the permanence of losing cherished squad members to ratchet up investment in each fateful decision.

Between two long-running franchises with staple status in their respective genres, Firaxis helps ensure 2K maintains their reputation among discerning PC gamers looking for cerebral experiences. The recent success of Marvel‘s Midnight Sun proves players are more than happy to lose countless hours carefully plotting strategies in these digital worlds.

Gearbox Software – The Wacky Brains Behind Borderlands

When they aren‘t crunching statistical models and unit upgrades for historical strategy guides, the developers at Gearbox Software take a decidedly different design direction – bombarding players with zany guns, humor and co-op mayhem in Borderlands.

Initially launched in 2009, Borderlands combined RPG leveling/loot hooks with an outlandish sci-fi shooter vision of a dystopian future planet – and all hell breaking loose in the search for an alien vault promising wealth/power beyond comprehension. The contrast of an epic loot hunt set against a stark, post-apocalyptic planetary setting resonated with gamers to the tune of over 68 million Borderlands games sold to date.

Like other franchises highlighted, Borderlands succeeds over multiple installments because of Gearbox doubling down on what makes the franchise special while gradually improving and adding features. What I love about Borderlands is that the games never take themselves too seriously – anyone who‘s encountered the franchise mascot Claptrap knows Gearbox opts for slapstick over melodrama. Yet the support studios under 2K have provided for ongoing content and events continues to demonstrate how much care goes into the Borderlands ecosystem from all sides.

The recent Tiny Tina‘s Wonderlands spin-off shows the series trademark humor and weapons play still captivates fans old and new. As someone who‘s played every series entry both solo and in co-op with friends, I‘ll always make time to check out wherever Gearbox takes the trigger-happy wasteland anarchy next.

The Road Ahead: What Does the Future Hold for 2K?

If early 2023 releases are any indication, 2K plans to stick with the formula that got them this far – delivering reliable sequels to established IP while taking calculated risks expanding licenses.

NBA 2K23 launched fall 2022 across PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo consoles to the usual strong sales buoyed by an exclusive Michael Jordan edition. With a solid foundation thanks to continual Visual Concepts development iterations, the franchise seems poised to keep dominating virtual courts for the foreseeable future.

On the other hand, attempts at building new franchises in the racing genre sputtered with September‘s Graffiti Kingdom receiving a lukewarm reception from gamers and reviewers. However, the upcoming Kerbal Space Program 2 from Private Division promises a sequel to an influential space flight simulator – so 2K still has avenues to tap potentially underserved audiences outside AAA titles.

If I‘m a betting man based on Take-Two‘s history, I‘d predict the 2K umbrella continues expanding over the next few years to fold in emerging developers. I also expect existing studios like Visual Concepts receive greater resources/staff to level-up technical capabilities and game ambition in tandem with the PS5/Xbox Series X generation.

After nearly 20 years publishing games, Take-Two Interactive clearly recognizes lasting success stems from building long-term relationships between players, developers and their games. So it‘s a safe bet fan favorites like NBA 2K and Borderlands remain integral to 2K‘s catalog even alongside new IP.

As the playground expands with virtual reality, expanding genres and platforms, it‘s an exciting time seeing just how far names that launched 2K‘s early days can push interactive entertainment limits in the decade ahead.