The moves sees the investment group bag classics like: Deus Ex, Tomb Raider, Legacy of Kain and over 50 others from parent company Square Enix
Swedish Investment group Embracer announced the acquisition of a massive chunk of Square Enix Western based studios today for a light $300 million dollars. The deal sees the entertainment investors add to a host of previously acquired studios including: THQ Nordic, Koch Games, Gearbox and Saber Interactive. With Borderlands’ Gearbox being acquired only last year for 1.3 BILLION dollars along with even bigger deals we have seen for Activision and Bungie, it’s safe to say this seems like a bargain.
Obviously Bungie and Activision are HUGE names in game development but these studios that came under Square Enix banner are not to be scoffed at. Massive IPs like Deus Ex, Thief, Tomb Raider and Legacy of Kain, all cult classics dating back decades included in a deal that seen them bag over 50 other IPs. Throw in three Studios, 11 locations and 1100 employees, with room to capitalize on fan hunger for long shelved titles. The deal just keeps sounding better and better. Especially when teams like Crystal dynamics were being “rented out” to help The Initiative with Perfect Dark rather than focus on the next Tomb Raider.
In a statement to confirm the sale of these studios, Square Enix said:“ The transaction enables the launch of new businesses by moving forward with investments in fields including: blockchain, A.I and the cloud”. All but confirming the studios will be in better hands now given Square’s move away from their primary business model of making great games. If the transaction is approved it should be completed between July-September this year, taking Embracer’s gaming division to ma staggering 124 studios with 10000 developers working across 230 games.
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