Take-Two’s publishing label Private Division has launched a new development fund, which will offer mentorship and financing to small studios attempting to scale, while remaining independent.

The Private Division Development Fund was announced on Private Division’s fifth anniversary, where the group also announced a new partnership with Polish developer Bloober Team, who will work with them to release a new survival horror IP.

"Since we announced Private Division five years ago, we've seen a number of promising game ideas from smaller teams that didn't quite fit with our full-fledged publishing model," said Private Division head of business development Blake Rochkind in a discussion with Gamesindustry.biz.

A boon for indie developers

"We knew we could not simply have a one-size-fits-all approach in today's world. We never like to say 'no' to an incredible game concept due to the size of the project, and the Private Division Development Fund enables us to identify and support some of the best creative ideas our industry has to offer."

Gameshub reports that while the fund will have an annual intake, and all independent studios are invited to apply, there will bestrict judging criteria for inclusion, such as income potential, the capacity to self-publish, and a diverse workforce.

“There are lots of places in pools of funding and developers can go to. They can go to venture capital now and go to later stage private equity. They can raise small business loans or government financing. But if they want expert help and advice that will align with the team? It’s a good source of capital that’s important to Private Division to help develop a brand,” said Rochkind.

Last month, we reported that Take-Two's mobile division is now the company's dominant revenue stream. Earlier this year, we listed the company as one of the top 50 mobile game makers of 2022.