Although we recently talked about Square Enix being one of the studios that Sony could be targeting for a future acquisition, it seems that someone would have gotten ahead of itself. And it is that the Japanese company has just announced its agreement with Embracer Group (better known as THQ Nordic, until 2019), with which would part with his major western studies: Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montréal and Square Enix Montréal, as well as all the intellectual properties linked to these studios.
A sale that involves the release of great franchises such as Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Thief or Legacy of Kain, in addition to more than 50 classic games. Although it also means the departure of some of the next scheduled deliveries such as Tomb Raider or Perfect Dark.
Today we have entered into agreement to welcome over 1000 new colleagues through the acquisition of @CrystalDynamics, @EidosMontrealand @SquareEnixMtl with a fantastic catalog of IPs such as Tomb Raider and Deux Ex, to be part of our ecosystem.https://t.co/NqELDQKTGe
— Embracer Group (@embracergroup) May 2, 2022
As shared by the group itself, The deal amounts to $300 million., adding these three studios and their eight locations around the world, with a total of more than 1,100 employees. An agreement that not only represents a great achievement for the Swedish group, but also places Embracer Group as a possible new competitor in the great fight between Microsoft and Sony in recent years. And it is that after the workforce readjustments, Embracer will have more than 14,000 employees, 10,000 committed game developers and a total of 124 associated studies.
For its part, from Square Enix they have already shared that the funds from this purchase will not go to its video game development division, but rather intends to invest in new fields such as blockchain, artificial intelligence or services in the cloud.
