Square Enix is selling its three major Western game studios and related video game assets — including tomb Raider, out of the encirclementand thief. Embracer Group will acquire the studios and properties for about $300 million; the acquisition will be completed between July and September of this year, subject to regulatory approvals.
Overall, Embracer is acquiring Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montreal and Square Enix Montreal, which equates to “1,100 employees across three studios and eight global locations.”In terms of gaming properties, the company will be the steward of the brand, including Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Rogueand Kane’s legacy, “as well as the continued sales and operations of the studio’s 50+ post-catalog games,” according to Embracer. Among other games already in development, Crystal Dynamics recently announced that it is working on a new game. tomb Raider title.
Embracer is a huge, obscure publishing group with more than 100 studios, including Borderlands Developers Gearbox, Sabre Interactive and THQ Nordic. It also owns the comics and entertainment brand Dark Horse. When the deal with Square Enix closes, Embracer said it will have 124 in-house studios and 14,000 employees.
“We are delighted to welcome these studios to the Embracer Group,” co-founder and CEO Lars Wingefors said in a statement. “We recognize the outstanding intellectual property, world-class creative talent and exceptional track record that has been demonstrated time and time again over the past few decades. It’s been a pleasure meeting the leadership team and discussing their future plans on how to achieve their ambitions and become a valued part of Embracer.”
Square Enix initially began its foray into Western game development with the acquisition of Eidos Interactive in 2009, during which time it oversaw new killer, tomb Raiderand out of the encirclement Released and expanded to original Marvel games. In 2017, killer Developer IO Interactive spun off from Square Enix to become an independent studio. Despite the deal, Square Enix isn’t completely exiting the Western market.The company noted that it will still release justification, life is weird and pioneer game.
The news comes at a particularly busy time for video game acquisitions.sony is buying destiny Developer Bungie for $3.6 billion, Take-Two for $12.7 billion farmville Manufacturer Zynga, and in its biggest deal to date, Microsoft is buying Activision Blizzard for nearly $69 billion.