Embraced lost Saber and several studios in a new 500 million dollar deal.
Embracer has recently been a big name in the gaming industry for buying up tons of studios when they went on a shopping spree, and then closing many of those studios while firing over 1400 people after a Saudi-backed deal fell apart. It hasn’t been good, and Embracer has been a shining light on why industry consolidation is such a horrible idea.
But there are some studios that are trying to save themselves, and potentially other studios. A private investment group led by Saber CEO has purchased their company from Embracer for a 247 million dollars, but during the purchase they also saved a few others including Zen Studios and 4A Studios (Metro Series) which made the total purchase price over 500 million.
Saber was not able to keep all their studios under them, so the full break down is below:
Saber Interactive and Beacon Interactive Studios
Nimble Giant
3D Realms
Sandbox Strategies
New World Interactive
Slipgate Ironworks
Mad Head Games
Fractured Byte
Digic
Studios remaining with Embracer Group
Tripwire
Beamdog
Tuxedo Labs
Demiurge
Shiver
Aspyr
Snapshot
34 Big Things
One of the bigger names sticking with Embracer seems to be Aspyr, the troubled studio that has had problems with the Star Wars franchise as of late. It is still unclear if the Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic Remake has been officially canceled or not, but the details do claim that Embracer retains publishing rights to a similar scale and the only other title seems to be Space Marine 2, but that has been picked up by Focus Entertainment.
It’s worth noting that Embracer also will continue to publish multiple titles that now fall under Saber as well. This list includes the Metro series, the full Zen Studios library, and Killing Floor 3.
It’s also rumored that the Borderlands studio, Gearbox Entertainment, is up for sale for the “right buyer,” but seems to be the most important studio under Embracer.
