This Monday (02), Embracer Group, the Swedish game company – responsible for THQ Nordic -, revealed the closing of an agreement to acquire the studios Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montréal and Square Enix Montréal.
But beyond that, the company now owns several of the company’s intellectual properties, such as “Tomb Raider”, “Deus Ex”, “Thief”, “Legacy of Kain” and 50 other games from the Square Enix catalog.
Image: Reproduction
The total purchase price was USD 300 million (R$ 1.5 billion in direct conversion) and the deal should be closed during Embracer’s second financial quarter – between July and September this year.
However, it is worth remembering that Square Enix still has control over some games – the negotiation does not cover all the studio’s IP’s. Therefore, franchises like “Just Cause”, “Outriders” and “Life is Strange” are still owned by the company.
Image: Disclosure
But in addition to gaming, nearly 1,100 employees and eight global locations were included in the purchase and are now part of the Embracer Group.
“We are thrilled to welcome these studios to the Embracer Group. We recognize the fantastic IP, world-class creative talent and track record of excellence that has been demonstrated repeatedly over the past few decades. It has been a great pleasure to meet the leadership teams and discuss future plans for how they can realize their ambitions and become a big part of Embracer,” said Lars Wingefors, co-founder and CEO of Embracer.
Upon completion of the sale, Embracer will have the US as the number 1 country in number of game developers – Canada is second. In total, the company will have more than 14,000 employees, 10,000 developers and 124 in-house studios.
Embracer Group reveals future projects
Image: Crystal Dynamics
The group took the opportunity to reveal some of the plans for the future – which are already underway or should start soon. For Crystal Dynamics, for example, the company said the studio is currently working on a new game in the “Tomb Raider” saga, which will feature next-gen storytelling and gameplay.
In the case of Eidos Montréal, there are several AAA projects in the works – including new titles from beloved franchises and an entirely original intellectual property.
Finally, Square Enix Montréal is expected to continue its work on developing and maintaining smartphone games based on AAA games.
Source: embrace
