Private Division
Indie game publishing label spun off from Take-Two, now owned by Haveli Investments.
On the record
Checkpoint: Reported Tales of the Shire Switch port (unverified listing)
The call
Take-Two built this label, ran it seven years, then exited it as economically unworkable; Fictions now runs the same playbook with thinner capital and one already-departed developer.
Fictions publishes mid-sized video games made by independent studios, handling marketing, money, and distribution. Take-Two built this exact business, ran it for seven years, and sold it because the money didn't work out and hits were rare, meaning no big company has found a way to make this model consistently profitable. The one thing that could matter: if the new owner, Haveli Investments, actually funds new games and keeps developers from leaving (like Moon Studios did in early 2025), it might prove the old owner wrong, but nothing yet suggests that will happen.
Why
01
AI pressure: None apparent. AI speeds localization, QA, and marketing art, but publishing deals still hinge on developer trust and curation, not automation. Could AI do the core job? Only partly.
02
Bigger players: Netflix Games and Amazon Games. Deep-pocketed newcomers can outbid for the same indie developers Fictions relies on, with no lock-in stopping a switch. Could a giant copy it? Yes, easily.
03
What protects it. A residual catalog (Hades, Kerbal, Tales of the Shire) and ex-Annapurna staff relationships, both unproven under new ownership.
What would change this call
Whether any other legacy Private Division developer (beyond Moon Studios) reclaims publishing rights within 24 months. Would confirm a pattern of catalog leakage under new Haveli ownership.
Whether Fictions announces a newly signed, previously unannounced title within the next year. Would show Haveli is funding fresh development, not just running out the old catalog.
Whether Kerbal Space Program is re-assigned to a new developer or formally shelved. Would clarify if Fictions can retain and revive its most valuable legacy IP.
Whether Fictions announces a newly signed, previously unannounced title within the next year. Would show Haveli is funding fresh development, not just running out the old catalog.
Whether Kerbal Space Program is re-assigned to a new developer or formally shelved. Would clarify if Fictions can retain and revive its most valuable legacy IP.
Key numbers
- Sold twice in 19 months: Nov 2024, rebrand June 2025
- Tales of the Shire: ~44K Steam owners
- Lego Party!: ~10.4K Steam owners
Named risks
- Two ownership changes and a rebrand within 18 months signal continued strategic instability.
- Developer partners may reclaim IP rights as Moon Studios did in March 2025, shrinking catalogue.
- No disclosed fresh capital commitment from Haveli beyond running existing catalogue.
- Kerbal Space Program 2 developer Intercept Games shut down in 2024, franchise status unclear.
- Operates in crowded field of equal-sized indie publishers with no differentiation.
Rivals, as read in July 2026
| Rival | Direction | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Take-Two Interactive | losing to | Parent explicitly exited indie publishing model, calling it economically unworkable, Nov 2024 |
| Annapurna Interactive | contesting | Fictions built directly from ex-Annapurna staff after their Sept 2024 exodus, per Jan 2025 report |
| Moon Studios (developer, formerly partner) | losing to | Reclaimed No Rest for the Wicked rights and went fully independent, March 2025 |
| Devolver Digital | contesting | Comparable mid-size curated indie publisher operating in same category, no disclosed ranking |
| 11 bit studios | contesting | Comparable curated third-party publisher of mid-budget titles, category peer |
Questions people ask
- Does Private Division still exist as a company?
- No. Take-Two Interactive sold Private Division in November 2024 to Haveli Investments, and the label was formally renamed Fictions, Inc. in June 2025, relocating to Los Angeles. The privatedivision.com brand is legacy; the operating publisher today is Fictions.
- Who owns Private Division now?
- Private Division was owned by Take-Two Interactive from December 2017 until November 2024, when Take-Two sold it for an undisclosed sum to investment firm Haveli Investments. Haveli renamed the entity Fictions, Inc. in June 2025.
- Why did Take-Two sell Private Division?
- Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said on 2024-11-06 that Private Division's projects were smaller and repeatedly fell short of expectations, explaining Take-Two is 'in the business of big hits' and exited mid-size indie publishing to focus on AAA and mobile.
- Is joining Fictions (formerly Private Division) a safe career move?
- Risky. The label suffered mass layoffs in April/May 2024 across four offices, dropped to roughly 20 legacy staff by the November 2024 sale, then cut some of those after the Haveli acquisition to make room for ex-Annapurna hires, per a 2025-01-09 report.
- Could AI replace what Private Division/Fictions does?
- Unlikely for its core function. The brief finds AI exposed in peripheral tasks like localization, QA and marketing assets, but the publisher's value lies in developer relationships and IP licensing deals, such as the Wētā Workshop Lord of the Rings license for Tales of the Shire, which AI cannot replicate.
- Who is Private Division/Fictions' biggest competitor?
- Annapurna Interactive is the closest comparison since Fictions was built by former Annapurna staff who left in September 2024; other category peers include Devolver Digital, Focus Entertainment and 11 bit studios, per the January 2025 GameRant report.
Timeline
- 2025-09Lego Party released under Fictions brand, nominated for Best Family Game at The Game Awards 2025
- 2025-07Tales of the Shire launches on PC, Switch, PS5, Xbox under Fictions label
- 2025-06Entity formally rebranded to Fictions, Inc., relocated to Los Angeles
- 2025-03Moon Studios reclaims No Rest for the Wicked publishing rights, goes fully independent
- 2025-01Buyer identified as Haveli Investments; ex-Annapurna staff installed to run catalogue
- 2024-11Take-Two confirms sale of Private Division to undisclosed buyer for undisclosed sum
- 2024-05Vast majority of staff laid off across four offices; Roll7 and Intercept Games shut down
- 2023-03Take-Two confirms layoffs at Private Division alongside Firaxis Games cuts
- 2017-12Private Division founded as Take-Two Interactive's third publishing label
Revision history
23 July 2026
First assessed. Little protection left. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
In the same band
Sources
- Zelnick on Private Division sale (2024-11-06)
- Ex-Annapurna Interactive Staff Take Over Private Division (2025-01-09)
- Fictions (company) (2025-06-01)
- Kerbal Space Program publisher Private Division has been sold (2024-11-07)
- Fictions (company) (2025-06-01)
- SteamDB (2025-07-01)
- Fictions (company)
- Ori, No Rest for the Wicked studio goes 'fully independent' in aftermath of Private Division closure (2025-03-11)
- Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Game (2024-10-13)
- Lego Party
- Fictions, Games, News & Updates
- Take-Two Has Sold Its Indie Publishing House Private Division (2024-11-06)