2K Los Angeles

2K Los Angeles was an American video game development studio based in Camarillo, California. It was founded in 1998 by Umrao Mayer under the name Kush Games, with an initial focus on sports video games. The studio's business role was primarily that of a developer rather than a consumer-facing publishing brand: it created and supported games that were released through broader corporate and publishing structures. Kush Games became connected to Visual Concepts after Sega acquired the studio in 2004. Visual Concepts was itself associated with Sega's sports-game development operations. On January 24, 2005, Take-Two Interactive acquired Visual Concepts and Kush Games from Sega. Take-Two subsequently organized these assets under its newly established 2K publishing label, placing Kush Games within the same corporate family as Visual Concepts and the sports products associated with 2K Sports. The acquisition gave Take-Two control of development capabilities relevant to its expansion in sports and other console video games. In February 2007, Kush Games was renamed 2K Los Angeles. The rebranding aligned the studio more visibly with the 2K identity, but it did not establish 2K Los Angeles as a broad standalone consumer brand comparable to a major game publisher. Available reference material identifies the studio's general sports-game orientation but does not provide a sufficiently complete, unambiguous catalog of titles that can be attributed exclusively to the 2K Los Angeles entity. Accordingly, this dossier describes its product activity at the category level rather than assigning individual games without stronger evidence. Leadership also changed during the studio's short period under the 2K Los Angeles name. By August 2007, Umrao Mayer had been succeeded as president by Graeme Bayless. Mayer later co-founded Zindagi Games with George Simmons in 2008. 2K Los Angeles was shut down in 2008, ending its existence as an operating development studio. Its closure occurred only a short time after the Kush Games rebranding, leaving the 2K Los Angeles name associated primarily with a transitional phase in Take-Two's consolidation of acquired development teams under the 2K label. The entity should therefore be understood as a defunct internal studio brand within a larger video game company, not as an independent publisher or an ongoing 2K development location. Its documented significance lies in the movement of Kush Games from an independently named sports-game developer, through Sega and Visual Concepts ownership, into Take-Two's 2K organization, followed by its renaming and eventual closure.

Kush Games was founded in 1998 in Camarillo, California, by Umrao Mayer. Its stated development focus was sports video games, placing it within a segment that later became strategically important to the Visual Concepts, Sega, and Take-Two organizations. The company initially operated under its own name and developed as an independent studio. In 2004, Sega acquired Kush Games. The studio became part of Visual Concepts, a development organization associated with Sega's sports-game operations. This relationship connected Kush Games to a larger group of game-development assets while preserving its role as a specialized development team. On January 24, 2005, Take-Two Interactive acquired Visual Concepts and Kush Games from Sega. The reported purchase price for the transaction was US$24 million. By January 2006, Take-Two had paid Sega a total of US$32.2 million for Visual Concepts and affiliated properties. The day after the acquisition, Take-Two announced the creation of the 2K publishing label, under which Visual Concepts and Kush Games would operate. The transaction therefore shifted Kush Games from Sega ownership into Take-Two's expanding portfolio of internally aligned development studios. The studio was renamed 2K Los Angeles in February 2007. The new name reflected its geographic location and its relationship with the 2K label. The change was a corporate rebranding rather than evidence that the studio had become a separate publishing company. Its documented business role remained connected to video game development, particularly sports titles associated with the wider 2K Sports product organization. Leadership changed during the 2K Los Angeles period. By August 2007, founder Umrao Mayer had been succeeded as president by Graeme Bayless. Mayer subsequently joined George Simmons in founding Zindagi Games in 2008. The same year, 2K Los Angeles was shut down. Public reference material does not establish a more detailed closure chronology, a specific reason for the shutdown, or a complete account of the studio's staff and projects. The studio's historical importance is consequently organizational rather than the result of a long-lived independent brand. It represents the transition of a sports-game developer from Kush Games, through Sega and Visual Concepts, into Take-Two's 2K framework. Its renaming in 2007 and closure in 2008 mark a brief final phase before the development operation disappeared as an active studio.

1. 2008Studio closure

   2K Los Angeles was shut down and ceased operating as a development studio.

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2. 2007Kush Games becomes 2K Los Angeles

   The studio was rebranded 2K Los Angeles in February.

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3. 2005Take-Two acquires Visual Concepts and Kush Games

   Take-Two Interactive acquired Visual Concepts and Kush Games from Sega and placed them within the new 2K label structure.

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4. 2004Sega acquires Kush Games

   Kush Games was acquired by Sega and became part of Visual Concepts.

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5. 1998Kush Games is founded

   Umrao Mayer founded Kush Games in Camarillo, California, to develop sports video games.

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A 2K-affiliated development studio focused primarily on sports video games.

• Sports video gamesVideo game development

  Kush Games was founded with a focus on sports video game development, and the later 2K Los Angeles studio remained associated with sports-game work within the Visual Concepts and 2K organizational structure. The available reference material does not provide a reliable, complete list of individual titles that can be assigned exclusively to this studio, so the product line is recorded at the category level.

• Console and personal computer video gamesVideo game development

  The studio's business consisted of developing video games for the broader 2K and Take-Two ecosystem, including games associated with console and personal computer platforms. It was a development operation rather than a separately marketed retail brand. Specific platform assignments for the studio's full output are not sufficiently documented in the supplied reference material.

• 2007Rebranding as 2K Los AngelesStrategy

  Following its integration into Take-Two's 2K organization, the former Kush Games identity was replaced with a name aligned to the 2K label and the studio's California location.

  What changed. Kush Games was renamed 2K Los Angeles in February 2007.

  Aftermath. The studio operated under the 2K Los Angeles name until it was shut down in 2008.

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• 2005Transfer of Kush Games to Take-Two InteractiveM&A

  Kush Games had become part of Sega through Visual Concepts. Take-Two sought to acquire Visual Concepts and associated development properties as part of its broader expansion in video games.

  What changed. Take-Two Interactive acquired Visual Concepts and Kush Games from Sega on January 24, 2005, subsequently operating the studios under its 2K label.

  Aftermath. The acquisition placed Kush Games within Take-Two's corporate development network and connected it to the 2K Sports-related business structure.

  Reported acquisition consideration. US$24 million purchase price; US$32.2 million paid to Sega for Visual Concepts and affiliated properties by January 2006 (January 24, 2005 acquisition; cumulative payment reported by January 2006)

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• 20082K Los Angeles is shut down

  The Camarillo development studio ceased operations, ending the former Kush Games team's period under the 2K Los Angeles name.

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• 2007Kush Games is renamed 2K Los Angeles

  Kush Games adopted the 2K Los Angeles name as part of its integration into Take-Two Interactive's 2K organization.

  Leadership changeOther
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• 2005Take-Two Interactive acquires Visual Concepts and Kush Games

  Take-Two Interactive purchased Visual Concepts and affiliated Kush Games from Sega, bringing the development studios into the corporate structure that would support the 2K label.

  M&A
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1. 2K Los Angeles