Take-Two establishes new 2K studio led by former execs from The Initiative

Take-Two Interactive has hired The Initiative’s Darren Gallagher and Brian Horton to form a new studio at 2K.

Gallagher and Horton will head an “all-new venture” following the closure of their former studio.

Horton joins as vice president and head of creative, with Gallagher as senior vice president and studio head of the developer.

“We don’t have additional details to share at this time, but look forward to sharing updates on their work in the future,” said 2K (via IGN).

Sharing the news on LinkedIn, Gallagher described the studio as “an ambitious opportunity unlike anything [he’s] taken on before.”

Gallagher founded and led The Initiative in 2018, which was working on the Perfect Dark reboot with Crystal Dynamics.

Horton was creative director at Microsoft, leading the “creative vision and execution” at The Initiative during this project.

In July 2025, Microsoft made sweeping layoffs across its gaming division, which included the closure of The Initiative and the cancellation of Perfect Dark.

The redundancies were part of a larger 4% cut in staff at Microsoft, which affected around 9,000 employees.

Take-Two was reportedly in talks to fund and publish Perfect Dark following The Initiative’s closure.

After allegedly spending two months in negotiations with “multiple parties” to find funding, the firms involved were “unable to come to terms over long-term ownership of the Perfect Dark franchise.”

In September 2025, Gallagher announced his departure from Xbox.

He described his tenure as “an incredible journey” which “came to a close with the wind-down of Perfect Dark and The Initiative.”

“While this chapter is ending sooner than hoped, the spirit, talent, and achievements of the team will live on well beyond the project. I’m grateful to Xbox for the opportunity, to our partners for their support, and to the community for their belief in what we were creating.”