Under-fire games developer Take-Two Interactive has announced a series of job cuts as a result of a new restructuring programme.
The New York-based firm – which owns the lucrative Grand Theft Auto (GTA) franchise – has been hit by faltering revenues over the past 12 months, with shareholder pressure forcing its chief executive and several directors to quit earlier this year.
Take-Two has also been accused of reporting artificially high profits and now faces an official accounts probe.
In its half-year trading update the company said revenue had fallen to $482.8 million (£244.6 million) from last year's corresponding $530.1 million (£268.6 million).
The resulting six-month loss of $72.8 million (£36.9 million) has been attributed to the healthy 2006 sales of PC and console adventure game The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.
On the impending unspecified job losses, chief executive Ben Feder commented: "While the decisions we are announcing today were difficult and will unfortunately require employee layoffs, we believe these necessary actions will improve the financial and operational performance of Take-Two, leading to greater value for our shareholders."
GTA IV – the eleventh game in the critically and commercially-successful series – is due for a worldwide release on both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles this October.
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