Game publisher Take-Two Interactive founder dies aged 47

Ryan Brant, the founder of game publisher Take-Two Interactive, has died aged 47. A cause for the relatively early death of the man is unknown. Brant founded Take-Two in 1993 and was in the company until 2006.

The news was announced by the Quattlebaum Funeral, Cremation and Event Center in Florida, writes Gamasutra, among others. A Take-Two spokesperson said the company was “devastated by the news of Ryan Brant’s death. We are very grateful for his contributions and extend our condolences to his family and friends.”

After the founding of Take-Two in 1993, Brant served as the company’s CEO until 2001, when he became vice president of the production department. During his time at Take-Two, Brant was responsible for the company’s IPO, purchasing the rights to Grand Theft Auto and founding Rockstar Games. He left in 2006, but had been absent from work several months before that, apparently due to back problems, IGN wrote at the time.

Brant and other Take-Two leaders clashed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2005 for artificially inflating revenues in the company’s quarterly earnings. In 2007, he settled with the SEC for fraudulent stock option backdating.

Take-Two today publishes games like Sid Meier’s Civilization VI, Red Dead Redemption 2, XCOM 2, NBA 2K19, Mafia III, BioShock Infinite, and many more.