The Daily Populous Friday May 23rd, 2025 morning edition
Authored by gamefile.news and submitted by geekteam6

Borderlands 4. Screenshot: Gearbox, Take Two Interactive

Grand Theft Auto, NBA 2K and Borderlands publisher Take Two Interactive has deleted references to “diversity and inclusion” from its annual report to investors this year.

And a list of employment awards it boasts about each year no longer includes two accolades it was granted for its support of LGBTQ employees.

Those changes are among the most eyebrow-raising in Take Two’s voluminous 2025 10K annual report, which was filed to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday.

The changes resemble the disappearance of diversity language from the most recent annual reports for some of America’s biggest corporations, including Disney, Google, GM, and Intel. Those firms “deleted or softened their DEI language” from their big corporate filings according to a report from NPR in February.

10K reports are filed by all publicly traded companies in the United States to inform investors about its operations. They offer a thorough look at how a company defines itself, how its business works, the risks it believes it faces and how it has performed financially.

Take Two has not explained its changes, and declined to comment when asked about them by Game File.

The changes are nevertheless consistent with a company that would want to avoid the attention of the Trump administration.

In March, the Justice Department and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, amplifying U.S. President Donald Trump’s disdain for DEI, stated that “DEI initiatives, policies, programs, or practices may be unlawful if they involve an employer or other covered entity taking an employment action motivated—in whole or in part—by an employee’s or applicant’s race, sex, or another protected characteristic.”

A switch to “Diversity of thought” and no more LGBTQ awards

In Take Two’s 2024 10K report to investors, it began a section titled “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” with the sentence…

We firmly believe that diverse teams are more valuable and effective, and that diversity is key to our success.

In the 2025 version, that section has been relabeled as “Community & Engagement.” and the opening line now states:

We firmly believe that diversity of thought drives the innovation that is integral to our success.

A list of awards the company received is also now much shorter, excising mention of an accolade from the Gay Gaming Professionals group…

Wolfy4226 on May 23rd, 2025 at 02:53 UTC »

Damn, if Pitchford saying "if you're a real fan, you'll make it happen" to $80 Borderlands 4 didn't put me off the game, this certainly has. >.>

Grimlockkickbutt on May 22nd, 2025 at 23:56 UTC »

Compliance in advance is so pathetic.

ZShock on May 22nd, 2025 at 23:26 UTC »

There's nothing to explain. It's in plain sight.