2K Games has announced they’ve acquired HookBang’s video game division, which they’re integrating into their subsidiary Visual Concepts.
The Hookbang game division will be focused on more of the NBA 2K franchise, which they’ve been supporting since being launched in 2012. Hookbang previously offered engineering support, design, and art on the NBA 2K games.
The team will be renamed Visual Concepts Austin, and will join their roster of locations spread around the world – including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Orange Country, Vancouver, Shanghai, Seoul, and Budapest.
Visual Concepts Austin will operate from a currently unannounced, new location in the Austin, Texas area, and will staff “hundreds of developers” to help support the NBA 2K franchise, as well as 2K Games’ other published works.
“Working with a studio as prominent as Visual Concepts on NBA 2K21 was an extraordinary opportunity for HookBang,” said Frank Roan, CEO at HookBang. “Formally joining Visual Concepts and 2K allows us to accelerate our impact on the product, the company and the Austin development community.”
“NBA 2K is a vital part of 2K’s publishing business and the larger video game industry, as well as a fixture in global pop culture lexicon,” said Greg Thomas, President at Visual Concepts. “We have made many investments in NBA 2K over the years, each of which has helped us reach new heights. HookBang has partnered with us on NBA 2K for the past couple of years, and we’re pleased to welcome its talented team to the Visual Concepts family.”
