NOVATO -- 2K, a video-game publishing label of New York-based Take-Two Interactive Software (Nasdaq: TTWO), is expanding its 64,000-square-foot Novato headquarters and two development studios by 30 percent.
2K (415-479-3634, 2kgames.com) already has more than 300 employees filling all of Hangar 10 at the Hamilton Landing office complex in southeast Novato and is actively hiring, according to a spokesman.
"Business is growing for 2K, both in publishing and development," said David Ismailer, chief operating officer. "We have deemed it necessary to expand to a new hangar here at Hamilton Landing in order to obtain the space needed to support the various departments at 2K."
Take-Two has two publishing labels, Rockstar Games and 2K, which has three brand divisions, 2K Games, 2K Sports and 2K Play. 2K has a several design studios in the U.S., Australia and Asia.
With origins in 1988, Visual Concepts studio in Novato is best-known for sports games such as MLB, NBA and NHL.
Take-Two formed the 2K Marin studio in 2007 after Novato development of the BioShock game for the Sony Playstation console then lead development of the BioShock 2, released in early 2010. 2K Marin also has been involved in development of the XCom game.
In mid-September, the 2K Games division released Borderlands 2, a sequel to the multimillion-unit seller hybrid first-person shooter and role-playing game developed externally by Gearbox Software of Texas. This month, 2K Sports is releasing a new version of NBA, and 2K Games is releasing internally developed updates to XCom and BioShock, developed by East Coast studios.
The company signed a three-and-a-half-year lease for 19,600 square feet of former Birkenstock space in a part of a second hangar at the Hamilton Landing office complex, according to Cornish & Carey Commercial Newmark Knight Frank's Brian Eisberg, who helped broker the deal for property owner Barker Pacific Group.
Tenant improvements, including trenching for high-speed data cables between the two hangars, are under way to meet the target move-in date of Nov. 15. German-owned footwear maker Birkenstock was set to have moved its U.S. marketing office back to its north Novato campus by the end of September. [See "Birkenstock to return to its Novato campus," June 11.]
Take-Two acquired 2K in 2005 with the acquisition of Sega's sports-game business, Visual Concepts Entertainment. Take-Two expanded that business from San Rafael to Novato soon thereafter. Sales were $825.8 million in fiscal 2012, ended March 31, down 27 percent from fiscal 2011.
Haden Ongaro, Mr. Eisberg and Mark Carrington represented Barker Pacific Group in the early September lease deal.
