Embracer Group to acquire multiple Square Enix studios

Embracer Group AB has declared it entered into an settlement to receive the enhancement studios Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montréal, Sq. Enix Montréal, and a catalogue of IPs which include Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Thief, Legacy of Kain and more than 50 again-catalogue video games from Square Enix.

In total, the acquisition incorporates ~1,100 workforce across a few studios and eight worldwide locations. The whole buy value quantities to USD 300 million on a dollars and personal debt totally free basis, to be paid out in entire at closing. The transaction is issue to a variety of regulatory and other exterior approvals and is predicted to near all through July-September 2022.

Embracer has been notably impressed by the studios’ wealthy portfolio of original IP, housing brands with proven world-wide likely this sort of as Tomb Raider and Deus Ex, as effectively as demonstrating the skill to make AAA online games with significant and escalating fan bases. Embracer sees an option to commit in these franchises, as well as the additional obtained IPs these kinds of as Legacy of Kain, Thief, and other initial franchises.

Soon after closing this transaction, the US will be Embracer’s #1 nation by number of activity developers and Canada will be #2. In total, write-up pending closings, Embracer will have more than 14,000 staff, 10,000 engaged match builders, and 124 inner studios. Embracer’s upcoming content material pipeline features additional than 230 video games with additional than 30 AAA game titles.

Embracer Group AB (formerly Nordic Online games Licensing AB and THQ Nordic AB) is a Swedish online video video game and media holding enterprise based mostly in Karlstad. The corporation was founded underneath the name Nordic Video games Licensing in 2011 as aspect of Nordic Online games Team and as the father or mother of publisher Nordic Video games GmbH. The business has been rising promptly about the previous handful of decades through acquisitions.

Sq. Enix, in the meantime, only issued a transient assertion, indicating the transaction aligns with their foreseeable future ambitions. Their abroad studios will keep on to publish franchises this sort of as JUST Induce, OUTRIDERS, and Life is Weird.