Embracer Group has entered (as of March 28) into an agreement to divest Gearbox Entertainment, for a consideration of USD 460 million (SEK 4.9 billion) to Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. ("Take-Two"). The proceeds from the deal will, upon closing, significantly reduce net debt, earnout obligations and capex. Embracer retains selected companies, including Gearbox Publishing San Francisco (to be renamed), with the publishing rights to the Remnant franchise, the upcoming Hyper Light Breaker and other notable unannounced game releases.

"Yesterday's announcement marks the result of the final structured divestment process and is an important step in transforming Embracer into the future with notably lower net debt and improved free cash flow. Through the transaction, we lower business risk and improve profitability as we transition to becoming a leaner and more focused company. After evaluating several options for Gearbox, I am happy that we have reached a solution that is in the best interest of all stakeholders. Randy and the team have been great team members throughout the past years, and I would like to thank them all for that. As one of the world's greatest games developers, I am confident that Gearbox will continue to innovate and thrive in their new home within Take-Two," says Lars Wingefors, co-founder and CEO of Embracer.

The Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection launched last Thursday (March 14), with day one adoptees experiencing a plethora of issues. Player feedback and press coverage painted an ugly picture—an unreasonable install size of 70+ GB was an immediate point of discussion, considering the lo-fi origins of the Collection's graphical assets. Players were greeted with a low number of servers, and in-game sessions were often interrupted by crashes and other bugs—at the time of writing, overall Steam feedback (from 5315 user submitted reviews) is "Overwhelmingly Negative." The Embracer Group-owned development house is also under fire due to alleged uncredited usage of modder content—iamashaymin's character reskins were present in the PlayStation 5 build, but promptly removed by a post-launch patch update.

Aspyr quickly responded to community feedback—their support department stated: "we'd like to thank the Battlefront community for their overwhelming support and feedback for the Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection release. At launch, we experienced critical errors with our network infrastructure. The result was incredibly high ping, matchmaking errors, crashes, and servers not appearing in the browser. Since launch, we've been working to address these issues and increase network stability, and we will continue our efforts until our network infrastructure is stabilized to prevent further outages. Please continue to report bugs, errors, or unexpected behaviors to our support team via our Request Form." Aspyr's licensing partner, Lucasfilm Games, has not issued a statement on this situation.

Embracer Group AB, a highly controversial Swedish gaming company, has started to sell off a wider portfolio of internal development studios—Jason Schreier (via Bloomberg) reported on speculative details late last month, but some of the suggested/initial numbers have changed since then. Yesterday, web sleuths noticed that Saber Interactive's official site no longer sports any references to Embracer. The latter has just announced—to investors—that Saber is being sold to Beacon Interactive (a private investment collective). Interestingly, this organization was started by Matthew Karch; a Saber Interactive co-founder. Their agreement signals Embracer's withdrawal from Russian territories—this morning's financial call revealed that this decision will assist in the reduction of the company's "geopolitical risk."

The latest announcement did not mention Gearbox Entertainment—Embracer will retain ownership of several studios, but the Borderlands developer is expected to be sold off in the near future. Insiders reckon that Embracer leadership was weighing up options as far back as last September, following a period of financial insecurity. Returning to the present day—Lars Wingefors, co-founder and Group CEO of Embracer stated: "I am pleased that we have found a win-win solution for Embracer and the parts of Saber that now will leave us. This transaction puts both companies in a stronger position to thrive going forward. Embracer is now able to discontinue all operations in Russia, according to a previous board decision, while safeguarding many developer jobs under new independent ownership. At the same time, we keep key companies, valuable IPs and future publishing rights. Cash flow is immediately improved, and we remain committed to reducing net debt."

Get ready to embark on a thrilling scientific odyssey! Expeditions: A MudRunner Game, the latest creation from Saber Interactive, the renowned studio behind MudRunner and SnowRunner, reveals Runners of the Lost Ark, a new action-packed trailer paying tribute to legendary tales of exploration and to adventurers from all around the world. The perfect way to pack your bag for Expeditions' arrival on March 5, 2024 on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch and PC. Feel the excitement of adventure in a journey filled with gripping moments and spectacular sceneries. Become a famous explorer trading a whip for a winch and a hat for a roof rack. In a pitiless wilderness, avoid all the traps, look danger straight in the eye and discover all the secrets of a thrilling world.

Your itinerary, your odyssey
You're not alone facing sharp cliffs and muddy terrain in Expeditions: A MudRunner Game, as you can always count on your equipment. Whip out your incredible tools and make your way in these gorgeous landscapes. Whether you're defying the law of physics with your winch, conquering the biggest precipices with your self-deploying bridge or scouting your path with your drone, you and your gadgets form an unbeatable team. Drive until the sun sets and make every bend an adventure.

It's been almost 30 years since Lara Croft took her first snowy steps in the mountains of Peru. In about 30 days, console and PC players will get to re-experience Lara's first three globe-trotting adventures, with a fresh look and feel in Tomb Raider I-III Remastered on PlayStation 4|5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and Windows PC. How did we get here? That story takes us to Austin, TX in 1998.

Aspyr & Lara go way back
A burgeoning video game company, Aspyr, launches Tomb Raider II on Macintosh computers. Aspyr continued with the Tomb Raider franchise until 2003, launching Tomb Raider, Tomb Raider III, Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation, Tomb Raider: Chronicles, and Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness. We've always wanted to revisit these titles, but we always debated the right approach. For years, we worked through the right balance of preservation and modernization. And once we felt we nailed it, we got in touch with our friends at Crystal Dynamics.

Embracer Group is reportedly going through a significant restructuring phase—a breaking/exclusive Reuters article indicates that company leadership is "considering options for its U.S. game developer Gearbox Entertainment." Past investments have resulted in the Stockholm-headquartered firm accumulating a vast portfolio of intellectual properties as well as ownership of multiple AAA-focused game development studios, but trying financial circumstances have caused some turmoil. Veteran studio, Volition Games, ceased doing business as announced around late August. The Saints Row and Red Faction franchise developer stated: "this past June, Embracer Group announced a restructuring program to strengthen Embracer and maintain its position as a leader in the video game industry. As part of that program, they evaluated strategic and operational goals and made the difficult decision to close Volition effective immediately."

Reuters believes, via three anonymous sources, that Embracer is consulting with Goldman Sachs and Aream & Co. regarding the possible sale of Gearbox—all involved organizations have declined to make a comment to media outlets. Embracer Group CEO Lars Wingefors has previously described 2023 being a "challenging year." Gearbox was acquired back in February 2021 in "a deal that valued the business at up to $1.4 billion at the time." Two of the insiders claim that "marketing materials are already available for potential buyers, which consist mainly of international gaming groups." Eurogamer reports that some interested parties have already come forward.

Amazon Games and Embracer Group, through its wholly owned subsidiary Middle-earth Enterprises, part of the operative group Freemode, today announced they have reached an agreement for Amazon Games to develop and publish a new massively multiplayer online (MMO) game based on The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien.

The upcoming game will be an open-world MMO adventure in a persistent world set in Middle-earth, featuring the beloved stories of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings literary trilogy. The game is in early stages of production, with the Amazon Games Orange County studio—makers of the popular open-world MMO game New World—leading development. Amazon Games will publish the game globally for PC and consoles. Additional details, including launch timing, will be shared at a later date.

Embracer Group, parent company of THQ Nordic, has been on a roll of IP and developer embracings in the past years, and has now added quite the independent heavyweight to its belt. 4A Games, best known for the Metro games franchise, has been acquired by the group. 4A Games will undoubtedly continue work on another installment of the Metro franchise, which has the original author of the novels the games are based on, Dmitry Glukhovsky, attached to the project as writer. In addition to 4A Games, Embracer Group has also acquired DECA Games, New World Interactive, Palindrome Interactive, Pow Wow Entertainment, Sola Media, Rare Earth Games, and Vermila Studios.

"With the acquisition of 4A Games, Saber Interactive is locking-up one of the best indie studios in the industry with the potential and capacity to take on another AAA project and are also internalizing the value of existing and future IPs into the Group. Saber solidifies its position as a leader in the CIS and Ukrainian game developer market. Combining our technology and capabilities with 4A Games presents tremendous opportunity for growth and expansion."

Matt Karch, CEO Saber Interactive and Director of the Embracer Board