Home > Online Exclusives > Online Exclusive August 2006

WEB EXCLUSIVE

Software Publisher Moves HQ from UK to Switzerland

Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., a worldwide publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment products, has relocated its international headquarters for publishing to Switzerland from the U.K., reports Mario Brossi of the Swiss Foreign Investment Agency Location: Switzerland. Offices in Geneva manage Take-Two's international publishing operations where the company will employ a local workforce of approximately 30 by mid-2007.

James Ellingford, Take-Two's International Managing Director, says the Geneva location "enables us to more efficiently manage our operations and provides close proximity to the expanding markets in Eastern Europe." Noting that Take-Two evaluated other sites in Europe, he adds, "Switzerland was the clear winner in terms of market access, ease of employee transition, a business-friendly government and a stable regulatory environment. Other advantages include qualified personnel capable of managing complex projects in a multilingual and multicultural environment, and an excellent transportation and communications infrastructure."

Take-Two's arrival "represents a significant further expansion of leading players in the entertainment, film and high technology space in Switzerland. Other recent investments include Microsoft's Developer Center for Collaboration Technologies, Red Herring's EMEA headquarters, Advanced Digital Information Corporation's new shared services center, Electronic Arts' international headquarters and RiskMetric's research and analytics center," says Brossi. "Switzerland has an excellent reputation for protecting intellectual property, which is another reason why these and similar firms increasingly find the country attractive as a European base of operations."