Square Enix sells Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montreal and Square Enix Montreal as well as attached IP including Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Thief and Legacy of Kain to Embracer Group for $300 million.
It is noteworthy that the file Tomb Raider is newly announced in action with Unreal Engine 5 Already included in the sale of Crystal Dynamics. The acquisition also includes more than 50 games from the collective back catalog of outside Square Enix studios.
Embracer Group says it “sees an opportunity to invest” in Tomb Raider and Deus Ex in particular “as well as additional IPs acquired such as Legacy of Kain, Thief and other original franchises.” The company explained that mobile phone specialist Square Enix Montreal, known for its subsidiaries such as Hitman Go and Lara Croft Go, “will continue to develop and play unforgettable mobile games based on AAA IP.”
A joint statement between Crystal Dynamics and Eidos-Montreal on Twitter “The Embracer Group will help push us to great new heights as we continue to deliver exciting experiences from our beloved franchises as well as original concepts and IP addresses developed with partners,” he says.
In total, the three studios acquired represent eight physical offices and approximately 1,100 employees. at press release When announcing the acquisition, Embracer Group confirmed that the entire cash transaction is expected to close between July and September of this year.
After the deal, Embracer Group will have “more than 14,000 employees, 10,000 participating game developers, and 124 in-house studios,” by its calculations. The company already owns and oversees THQ Nordic, Deep Silver’s parent company Koch Media, creator of Borderlands Gearbox, and several other studios and companies, both in and out of gaming. Recently, he Got Dark Horse Comics Back in December.
Embracer Group CEO and co-founder Lars Wingefors confirmed that the company expects to break even or make a small profit from this transaction “based on the back catalog over the next two years.” amenities an offer Determining the plans and expectations of the acquired studios believes that their near-term expectations “could change favorably if the company decides to enter into a deeper strategic relationship.”[s] with one or more platforms.
The Embracer Group’s February 2021 acquisition of Gearbox It helps illustrate how amazingly cheap this deal really is, at least in relative terms. Embracer paid $1.3 billion to the Borderlands creator alone, and while Gearbox owns more than Borderlands and the relative valuation of these Square Enix properties is complex, snapping up three of the publisher’s Western pillars as well as a censored IP is an absolute bargain for the Embracer Group, which also suggests Square Enix was Very keen to sell.
at press release Square Enix, sent to investors, described the deal as a way to “help the company adapt to the changes taking place in the global business environment by creating a more efficient allocation of resources.” It also says that the deal “allows the launch of new business by moving forward with investments in areas including blockchain, artificial intelligence and cloud.”
After this deal, Square Enix’s western portfolio will continue to include chains such as Just Cause, Outriders, and Life is Strange within Square Enix External Studios and Square Enix Collective. The future of many other games and franchises, which were not specifically mentioned but would appear to fall within the broader back catalog mentioned in the deal, remains unclear. However, we know that a file Perfect replay in the dark in the works on The Initiative Under the Xbox, Crystal Dynamics will still be involved in its development, as of late tweet from the previous.
In a Q&A addressing the deal, Embracer Group commented on the fate of Marvel’s Avengers by Crystal Dynamics and Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy from Eidos-Montreal, both of which resulted from Marvel licensing from Square Enix.
Wingefors confirmed that “all games developed by the studios are included in the deal.” “However, a number of external approvals from third parties are required in order to close this transaction. It is likely that one of those required approvals will be licensees.”
The CEO didn’t stick to the details of either Marvel’s Avengers or Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, but his response seemed to indicate that the two would not be affected immediately, while the possibility of future Marvel-licensed games is still up in the air.
“I think your question was related to the two current games and whether they would be run and built on or changed from existing plans in the future,” he said. “I guess that’s the color I can give you.” However, Wingerfors added, “We need to wait until closing, unfortunately, to get more color around IPs and studios.”
Marvel’s Avengers is one of the many games that Square Enix said it didn’t meet expectations.
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