Embracer Group to Sell Saber, Developer of a New ‘Star Wars’ Game Remake, in $500 Million Deal

[tentacle-tropes]

Embracer Group to Sell Saber, Developer of a New ‘Star Wars’ Game Remake, in $500 Million Deal

Saber will continue developing Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

www.bloomberg.com

Swedish gaming company Embracer Group AB will sell one of its largest subsidiaries, Saber Interactive, to a group of private investors in a deal worth up to $500 million, according to a person familiar with the transaction.

SCOOP: Saber Interactive, developer of the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake, will leave Embracer in a $500 million deal to become a privately owned company — the biggest move yet in Embracer's ongoing cost-cutting initiative

KOTOR lives

Can't promise it'll actually come out, but yes it's still alive

Pn Gearbox

Stay tuned

 

[Refyref]

Probably good for Saber, gets them out of the uncertainty that is Embracer. They're a very prolific studio, and they have relations with many publishers, so I feel like they'll be fine outside of a big organization.

 

[Lelouch0612]

Embracer is going to be one of the biggest fail in the industry's history.

Good for Saber I'd say, they are extremely talented.

 

[Lite_Agent]

Losing both Saber and Gearbox, huh.

Going to be funny when Embracer is done with their selling and cancelling spree and realise they're left with little of value. Wonder if those investors their CEO is so anxious to please will indeed be pleased by then.

Well, definitely better than another round of mass lay-offs, that's for sure!

Embracer is going to be one of the biggest fail in the industry's history.

Living up to OG THQ's legacy a tad too literally.

 

[Evilnemesis8]

Probably good for Saber, gets them out of the uncertainty that is Embracer. They're a very prolific studio, and they have relations with many publishers, so I feel like they'll be fine outside of a big organization.

Saber is a rather big organization just by itself.
I wonder who these private investors are who ponied up this kind of cash considering the current climate within the space.

 

[fiendcode]

Great for Saber. Hope they bring at least Aspyr, Beamdog and 4A with them.

 

[Refyref]

Saber is a rather big organization just by itself.
I wonder who these private investors are who ponied up this kind of cash considering the current climate within the space.

Ah right, I forgot Embracer turned them into one of their managing companies. I suppose this sale includes all of the components of the company. Still, should at least be more stable then Embracer in its current condition.

 

[Evilnemesis8]

Ah right, I forgot Embracer turned them into one of their managing companies. I suppose this sale includes all of the components of the company. Still, should at least be more stable then Embracer in its current condition.

Last part of the Bloomberg article:

The $500 million figure includes an option for Saber to bring along multiple Embracer subsidiaries, the person said.

Remains to be seen what's going on there as far as what is going to come with Saber.

 

[fiendcode]

Potential subsidiaries then:

Saber Interactive

• 34BigThings
• 3D Realms
• 4A Games
• Aspyr
• Beamdog
• Bytex
• Demiurge Studios
• Digic Pictures
• Fractured Byte
• Mad Head Games
• New World Interactive
• Nimble Giant Entertainment
• Sandbox Strategies
• Shiver Entertainment
• Slipgate Ironworks
• SmartPhone Labs
• Snapshot Games
• Tripwire Interactive
• Tuxedo Labs
• Zen Studios

edit: And if Gearbox goes too:

Gearbox Entertainment

• Captured Dimensions
• Gearbox Publishing
• Gearbox Properties
• Gearbox Software (Montréal, Québec, Shanghai)
• Gearbox Studios
• Lost Boys Interactive

 

[Aostia82]

Embracer is going to be one of the biggest fail in the industry's history.

Good for Saber I'd say, they are extremely talented.

yes, unlike all the layoffs this sounds like a very positive outcome for the devs, right?

 

[fiendcode]

Hey Embracer, please sell Tatsujin to M2.

 

[awng782]

Finally, some good industry news for once.

 

[Undead Warrior]

yes, unlike all the layoffs this sounds like a very positive outcome for the devs, right?

Well, in the past newly independent studios have turned to mass layoffs in order to reduce overhead after being drained of cash from their own buyout. Saber getting out from under Embracer is still good, but I'd wait a couple months to see how it settles down before popping the champagne.

 

[Guarabyra]

I hope 4A games is included in that sale.

 

[Lite_Agent]

I wonder who these private investors are who ponied up this kind of cash considering the current climate within the space.

Yeah, mysterious investors who suddenly show up with bag of cash has me suspicious.

 

[Tokuiten]

Embracer is going to be one of the biggest fail in the industry's history.

Good for Saber I'd say, they are extremely talented.

Yeah, wasn't Embracer one of those mega publishers that were doing lots acquisitions? Weird how they're shrinking down again now. Ever since that MS rumor, it feels like the entire industry is trying to get rid of as much "weight" as possible for whatever reasons.

Personally, I just hope those "private investors" aren't tied to Saudi-Arabia :/ Was my first though, unfortunately.

 

[GodlyTrident]

Surprised that Embracer sold 4A too. I guess the development of the next Metro is unsustainable for Embracer anymore.

 

[Liha]

Could Saudi Arabia potentially be the private investor? After all the sales, there won't be any significant assets remaining at Embracer.

Embracer is going to be one of the biggest fail in the industry's history.

Good for Saber I'd say, they are extremely talented.

It's also a failure for my wallet, -78,1% stock...

 

[tentacle-tropes]

Sources: Borderlands Studio Will Escape The Most Divisive Company In Gaming

Gearbox is leaving the Embracer fallout behind as devs wait for a answers on what’s next

kotaku.com

Embracer bought Borderlands maker Gearbox Entertainment for $1.2 billion back in early 2021 amid an unprecedented acquisition spree that's since turned into a financial disaster. Now, just three years later, Kotaku has learned that Gearbox is closer than ever to being sold out from under what is arguably the most hated company in gaming.

Gearbox CEO and co-founder Randy Pitchford held a town hall with staff earlier this week in which he told employees that a decision had been made regarding the studio's future, with more information to be shared next month, according to two sources familiar with the meeting. For months now Pitchford has told developers at Gearbox that there were three possible scenarios: stay with Embracer, sell to someone else, or finance a buyout and go back to being independently run. Kotaku understands that the decision was made to sell, and a deal is in the late stages of being finalized.

Following the Embracer budget shortfalls, the studio shelved work on some exciting new projects and IPs to focus primarily on the next Borderlands games which are published by 2K, according to two sources familiar with the changes. A follow-up to Borderlands 3 underwent a reshuffling of some of its leadership team as Gearbox tries to get it across the finish line, while a sequel to Tiny Tina's Wonderlands underwent a soft reboot. Sources tell Kotaku that both projects are still very promising and progressing well, but that the upheaval contributed to feelings of uncertainty on the studio floor. "We've lost senior people because of this," claimed another developer.

 

[allan-bh]

What a fiasco, at this point would be better Embracer sell all the studios, their participation in the gaming market was a big failure.

 

[Gimmick]

I wonder if Borderlands 4's development pipeline has been wrecked by the black hole of Embracer, and what the hell is going to happen with the new Tomb Raider.

 

[AruanaRiva]

Could Saudi Arabia potentially be the private investor? After all the sales, there won't be any significant assets remaining at Embracer.

It's also a failure for my wallet, -78,1% stock...

It will be between Saudi or Tencent i suppose.

Overall good news for any embracer own branch thats competent to bail out from the sinking ship there.

 

[DarkDetective]

Everyone here says good for Saber to escape from Embracer, but the blind M&A craze of Saber's CEO who bought every Eastern European work-for-hire studio under the sun, let them grow like crazy and let them work on their own projects that ultimately underperformed is one of the reasons why Embracer as a group is currently struggling so much.

 

[enpleinjour]

Embracer has $1.5B debt iirc and they wanted to pay off $750M by this year.
Saber would net $500M (bought at $525M) and Gearbox would net $0.8-9B.

However, they also need to account for the losses of their operating business but both these two should get them out of the hole. If they continue to sell after this then that is a HUGE red flag.