Take 2 has acquired Illusion Softworks, the central European developer responsible for the Mafia franchise.

The studio has operations in Brno and Prague in the Czech Republic with around 200 employees. It will join Take 2's 2K Games publishing label and be rebranded to 2K Czech.

Illusion Softworks was established in 1997 and created (and owns) franchises including Mafia, Hidden & Dangerous and Vietcong. The studio is currently working with 2K Games on Mafia II.

The move comes as part of Take 2's focus on "owning high-value intellectual property as we continue to expand our portfolio of triple-A titles," said Ben Feder, CEO of Take-Two, in the acquisition announcement.

2K Czech joins a stable of studios that includes 2K Marin, 2K Boston, 2K Australia, the Rockstar Games slate of six studios, Venom and Firaxis.

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Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K, added: "Adding 2K Czech to our network of development studios demonstrates our strong commitment to creating great franchises and building world-class creative teams. The 2K Czech team is responsible for several very innovative and highly-regarded franchises and we look forward to continuing to develop new and existing IP together."

"We have an excellent working relationship with 2K Games and the utmost respect for them," commented Petr Vochozka, CEO of 2K Czech. "We are pleased to become a 2K studio and are confident that this new partnership will strengthen our current and future projects."