Take-Two (TTWO) Partners With Tiger Woods, Buys HB Studios
Take-Two Interactive Software TTWO division 2K recently inked an exclusive long-term partnership with golf legend Tiger Woods. Moreover, 2K announced the acquisition of privately-held HB Studios, developers of PGA TOUR 2K21 and The Golf Club franchise.
Per the agreement with Woods, 2K has the rights to use his name and likeness exclusively in the PGA TOUR 2K franchise and any other golf game published by the latter during the tenure of the partnership.
Moreover, Tiger Woods will be the executive director and consultant with PGA TOUR 2K. 2K will also partner with Woods’ TGR Foundation to offer underserved students the tools needed to thrive in school and beyond.
Net Bookings Guidance Raised Amid Stiff Competition
The partnership with Tiger Woods and the HB Studios acquisition strengthen Take-Two’s gaming-content portfolio. The company is benefiting from portfolio strength and solid increase in recurrent consumer spending.
In fact, Take-Two’s strong content portfolio is helping it to fight intensifying competition from the likes of Electronic Arts EA and Activision Blizzard ATVI. All three stocks have benefited from higher spending on video games due to coronavirus-induced lockdowns and shelter-in-place guidelines.
However, both EA and Activision have outperformed Take-Two on a year-to-date basis.
Year-to-Date Performance
Nevertheless, Take-Two raised its fiscal 2021 guidance, including net bookings based on strong higher recurrent consumer spending from Grand Theft Auto (“GTA”) Online and NBA 2K, as well as strong performances by GTA V and Red Dead Redemption 2.
This Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company now expects fiscal 2021 net bookings between $3.37 billion and $3.42 billion, up from its previous guidance range of $3.15-$3.25 billion and original guidance range of $2.55-$2.65 billion. Markedly, PGA Tour 2K21 is expected to be one of the largest contributor to net bookings. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Portfolio Strength to Aid Top-Line Growth
Take-Two’s digital revenues are growing on solid demand for GTA Online and GTA V, NBA 2K20 and NBA 2K21, Red Dead Redemption 2 and Red Dead Online, Borderlands 3, Sid Meier’s Civilization VI, Social Point’s mobile offerings, and WWE SuperCard.
Markedly, GTA Online benefited from the CayoPerico Heist update launched in December 2020. The introduction of the single-player experience has been a major attraction for players. Take-Two expects GTA Online to achieve a new net bookings record in fiscal 2021.
Further, the upcoming launch of GTA V to the latest generation of consoles and new stand-alone version of GTA Online (available for free exclusively on PlayStation 5 during the first three months), both in second half of calendar 2021, is expected to boost the popularity of this franchise.
Additionally, content update to Red Dead Online is expected to boost player base. The success of NBA 2K21 is also noteworthy. At the end of third-quarter fiscal 2021, Take-Two had sold more than 8 million units of the game across all platforms.
Moreover, launch of the Vietnam & Kublai Khan packs for Sid Meier’s Civilization VI by 2K and Firaxis Games is expected to help in expanding player base. The launch of Kerbal Space Program on Tencent’s TCEHY WeGame platform in China is a key catalyst.
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