Take-Two Interactive announced today that it's acquired Central European-based game development studio Illusion Softworks. Financial terms were not provided.

The developer has operations in Brno and Prague, the Czech Republic. It was founded in 1997 and is known for creating franchises such as Mafia, Hidden & Dangerous and Vietcong. The studio's 200 employees will join Take-Two's 2K Games publishing label as its newest studio, 2K Czech.

"The acquisition of Illusion Softworks reflects our strategic focus on owning high-value intellectual property as we continue to expand our portfolio of triple-A titles," said Ben Feder, Chief Executive Officer of Take-Two.

"Adding 2K Czech to our network of development studios demonstrates our strong commitment to creating great franchises and building world-class creative teams," commented Christoph Hartmann, President of 2K. "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," added 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."

2K Czech is already working on free roaming action-crime game Mafia II for Xbox 360, PS3 and Games for Windows. The original Mafia sold over two million units. In Mafia II players will interact with Empire City's Mafia crime families from the early '50s. Daniel Vavra, who wrote the script for the first Mafia, is providing the writing for the sequel as well. A release date has not yet been announced.