Out of nowhere, Embracer Group announces a historic deal to buy many western studios and brands from Square Enix.
This year is already filled with high profile acquisitions. In addition to Microsoft’s mega-deal and Sony’s purchase of Bungie, the Embracer Group has now joined the list. In a (press release) dated 02.05.2022, they have announced that they are taking over the majority of all western studios from Square Enix for a whopping 300 million US dollars, which is around 285 million euros. The deal is set to close in the second quarter (July-September 2022) of the 2022/23 financial year.
Studios include California-based Crystal Dynamics and two studios from Canada, Eidos- and Square Enix Montreal. In addition to the more than 1100 employees, the Swedish Embracer Group also buys more than 50 valuable brands such as Tomb Raider, Deus Ex and Thief. Interestingly, however, Square-Enix’s European titles are excluded from the deal. Series like Just Cause and Outriders will thus remain with Square Enix for the time being.
The CEOs have also already released statements
Lars Wingefors, co-founder and CEO of Embracer Group made the following statement in the press release:
“We are delighted to welcome these studios to the Embracer Group. We recognise the fantastic intellectual property, world-class creative talent and outstanding achievements that have been consistently demonstrated over the past decades. It was a great pleasure to meet the leadership teams and discuss future plans to realise their ambitions and become an important part of Embracer“.
Square Enix Americas and Europe CEO Phil Rogers has also already commented on the deal:
“Embracer is the best kept secret in the games industry: a huge, decentralised collection of entrepreneurs that we are thrilled to become a part of today. Embracer is a perfect fit for our ambitions: We want to create high-quality games with great people in a sustainable way, and grow our existing franchises into their best versions. Embracer allows us to forge new partnerships across all mediums to maximise the potential of our franchises and realise our dream of exceptional entertainment “.
Europe’s largest employer in the games industry
Swedish Embracer Group is one of the most important players in the industry, alongside Ubisoft in Europe. Indeed, once the deal is closed, Embracer Group will have more than 14,000 employees, of which 10,000 game developers alone are spread across 124 studios. In the same breath, the publisher has announced that more than 230 games will be in development, 30 of which will be triple-A titles.
What do you expect from the takeover? Are you looking forward to the upcoming works under the new publisher and do you miss one IP in particular? Let us know in the comments
