After buying up dozens of studios and intellectual properties over the last several years, Embracer Group is now planning to close studios, cancel projects, and lay off employees after a
After buying up dozens of studios and intellectual properties over the last several years, Embracer Group is now planning to close studios, cancel projects, and lay off employees after a
After buying up dozens of studios and intellectual properties over the last several years, Embracer Group is now planning to close studios, cancel projects, and lay off employees after a
After buying up dozens of studios and intellectual properties over the last several years, Embracer Group is now planning to close studios, cancel projects, and lay off employees after a $2 billion deal fell through.
billion deal fell through. billion deal fell through. billion deal fell through.Embracer Group gained some notoriety for the rate at which it’s bought studios and IPs over the last decade or so, with purchases of major studios like THQ Nordic, Deep Silver, and Gearbox Software. Additionally, nabbing properties to work with have been Embracer’s modus operandi, with perhaps the largest one in their wheelhouse being The Lord of the Rings franchise. After several failed or middling releases, and reportedly a $2 billion deal falling through, CEO Lars Wingefors is making a change.
“We have acquired some of the world’s leading entertainment IP and we have invested into one of the largest pipelines of games across the industry. The program presented today will transform us from our current heavy-investment mode to a highly cash-flow generative business this year,” discussed CEO Lars Wingefors in an open letter detailing the changes that would be coming to the Embracer Group.
“The actions will include, but not be limited to, closing or divestments of some studios and the termination or pausing of some ongoing game development projects… We will reduce third-party publishing and put greater focus on internal IP and increase external funding of large-budget games.” CEO Lars Wingefors also made sure to say that, in terms of game cancellations, they will “almost entirely be around unannounced projects,” stating that “all announced significant releases will still be released as planned”.
While releases like Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, Payday 3, and many others will move forward as planned, it’ll be rough to see which studios see issues moving forward. CEO Lars Wingefors called the recent release of Dead Island 2 “one of our greatest successes” and Embracer Group recently signed a deal with Amazon Games to publish and fund Crystal Dynamics’ upcoming Tomb Raider game, as Embracer also purchased them, Eidos Montreal, Square Enix Montreal, and a catalog of IPs, including Tomb Raider and Deus Ex, last year.
With no word yet as to which studios or projects will be affected, thoughts certainly go out to the people about to be hurt by these changes. With nearly 17,000 people on staff across Embracer Group, and a reported lay-off of 10% on the way, tons of people will need help finding other opportunities soon. With some projects outside of development also in Embracer’s group, like Dark Horse Comics and Limited Run Games, it’s hard to say where things will go from here.
