2K Games acquires HookBang game division

2K Games has acquired HookBang’s Austin-based video game division, which it will integrate with Visual Concepts, a wholly-owned studio and developer of the NBA 2K franchise.

The acquired team will be renamed Visual Concepts Austin and join Visual Concept’s family of current locations in the San Francisco Bay Area, greater Los Angeles, and Orange County, California, as well as Vancouver, Seoul, Shanghai, and Budapest.

The studio will operate from an unannounced new location in the Austin, Texas metropolitan area and employ “hundreds of developers” to support NBA 2K, as well as 2K Games’ publishing business.

HookBang was founded in 2012 and recently partnered with Visual Concepts to provide art, design, and engineering support for NBA 2K21.

“Working with a studio as prominent as Visual Concepts on NBA 2K21 was an extraordinary opportunity for HookBang,” said HookBang CEO Frank Roan in a press release. “Formally joining Visual Concepts and 2K allows us to accelerate our impact on the product, the company and the Austin development community.”

Visual Concepts president Greg Thomas added, “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. 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.”