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Embracer Group are quite terrifying. The amount of power they have in the gaming industry is simply insane and now they're swallowing up more studios and even the full rights to The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.

Announced across multiple press releases today they've put out their intention to acquire:

  • Limited Run Games - who make physical releases for collectors. This deal will also include something called "Carbon Engine", which is a tech they developed "that allows legacy content and retro games to be effortlessly put out in highly accurate, emulation-based ports for modern platforms".
  • Singtrix - an award-winning creator of industry leading vocal processing effects technology for karaoke, gaming, and entertainment.
  • Middle-earth Enterprises - so they will own the full worldwide rights to The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Hobbit and other Middle-earth-related works across motion pictures, video games, board games, merchandising, theme parks and stage productions. So they won't own the actual literary works, just the IP rights to do basically anything with them.
  • Tuxedo Labs - they made the pretty awesome game Teardown.
  • Tripwire Interactive - developed the Killing Floor and Rising Storm games.

How long before Embracer Group buy up the rest of the internet? I'm expecting a knock on the door soon, kidding of course.

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randyl Aug 18, 2022
Quoting: Purple Library GuyGah! My Tolkien!
Well, mind you, I have no particular reason to imagine the Embracer/Extender/Extinguisher Group will do a worse job with Tolkien IP than the Saul Zaentz company.
Anyway, it seems like Middle-earth Enterprises' rights are not as complete as I initially thought. From Wiki:

QuoteIn November 2012, the Tolkien Estate, trustee and publishers sued Middle-earth Enterprises (in addition to Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema) for infringing Tolkien's copyrights by producing casino and video games using his characters. The original license to Tolkien's works was limited to the right to sell "tangible" products such as "figurines, tableware, stationery items, clothing, and the like", but did not cover "electronic or digital rights, rights in media yet to be devised or other intangibles such as rights in services"

Seems like they have the movie rights, and rights to character names, and merch, but probably not video game rights, basically because video games didn't exist in 1968 when Tolkien sold the rights.

Other limitations on Middle-earth Enterprises' rights (they extend only to The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit) may partly explain why the big new series from Amazon is taking place during the time period before LoTR takes place, in late Silmarillion territory.
They might have sued but they may have lost or had their rights amended. They license a few Lord of the Rings games including Lord of the Rings Online, Middle-Earth Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War, and some strategy game.

Embracer is freaking huge. I've been wondering how they've flown under the radar so well. Maybe it's because of their name change and how little known "Embracer" is. Embracer is the rebranded parent company of THQ Nordic and was also previously named THQ Nordic AB which owned THQ Nordic GmbH. They rebranded to Embracer in 2019.

Some of the subsidiaries Embracer owns and several are massive parent companies in their own right: Amplifier Games, Asmodee, Coffee Stain Holdings, Dark Horse Media, Embracer Freemode, Gearbox Entertainment, Plaion, Saber Interactive, and THQ Nordic. They've also merged several previous brands into their fold or into their subsidiary's holdings group.


Last edited by randyl on 18 August 2022 at 4:25 pm UTC
Eike Aug 18, 2022
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Quoting: randylEmbracer is freaking huge. I've been wondering how they've flown under the radar so well. Maybe it's because of their name change and how little known "Embracer" is. Embracer is the rebranded parent company of THQ Nordic and was also previously named THQ Nordic AB which owned THQ Nordic GmbH. They rebranded to Embracer in 2019.

Some of the subsidiaries Embracer owns and several are massive parent companies in their own right: Amplifier Games, Asmodee, Coffee Stain Holdings, Dark Horse Media, Embracer Freemode, Gearbox Entertainment, Plaion, Saber Interactive, and THQ Nordic. They've also merged several previous brands into their fold or into their subsidiary's holdings group.

Thanks for pointing out!
They also got Koch Media and Deep Silver, both well known at least in German speaking countries.
Whitewolfe80 Aug 18, 2022
Quoting: Eike
Quoting: randylEmbracer is freaking huge. I've been wondering how they've flown under the radar so well. Maybe it's because of their name change and how little known "Embracer" is. Embracer is the rebranded parent company of THQ Nordic and was also previously named THQ Nordic AB which owned THQ Nordic GmbH. They rebranded to Embracer in 2019.

Some of the subsidiaries Embracer owns and several are massive parent companies in their own right: Amplifier Games, Asmodee, Coffee Stain Holdings, Dark Horse Media, Embracer Freemode, Gearbox Entertainment, Plaion, Saber Interactive, and THQ Nordic. They've also merged several previous brands into their fold or into their subsidiary's holdings group.

Thanks for pointing out!
They also got Koch Media and Deep Silver, both well known at least in German speaking countries.

Everybody knows deep silver publisher of stalker developer of saints row
Geppeto35 Aug 19, 2022
Quoting: Kimyrielle
Quoting: EikeThe preview image is chosen so well... :D

A Ferenghi would have been even more fitting, though.
You mean Star treck's hyper-capitalistic Ferengi?


Wiki page.

About tripwire, I hope that Chivalry II will come to linux or proton quite quickly as it was pointed as 'just a EAC trouble' a couple of months ago.
Eike Aug 19, 2022
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Quoting: Whitewolfe80
Quoting: Eike
Quoting: randylEmbracer is freaking huge. I've been wondering how they've flown under the radar so well. Maybe it's because of their name change and how little known "Embracer" is. Embracer is the rebranded parent company of THQ Nordic and was also previously named THQ Nordic AB which owned THQ Nordic GmbH. They rebranded to Embracer in 2019.

Some of the subsidiaries Embracer owns and several are massive parent companies in their own right: Amplifier Games, Asmodee, Coffee Stain Holdings, Dark Horse Media, Embracer Freemode, Gearbox Entertainment, Plaion, Saber Interactive, and THQ Nordic. They've also merged several previous brands into their fold or into their subsidiary's holdings group.

Thanks for pointing out!
They also got Koch Media and Deep Silver, both well known at least in German speaking countries.

Everybody knows deep silver publisher of stalker developer of saints row

Koch Media (not to be confused with "Koch Industries") was shining in point and click / adventure games back then.
StalePopcorn Aug 19, 2022
Quoting: Eike
Quoting: StalePopcornToo bad the countries wherein these monolithic, soulless viruses exist also dictate the minds of their respective governments—as most successful parasites do.

The countries dictate the minds of their governments?
Strangely put, but it doesn't actually sound like something bad.
I see the misunderstanding based on my confusing/incorrect grammar.

"These monolithic, soulless viruses also dictate the minds of their respective governments in the countries wherein they exist—as most successful parasites do."

That better?


Last edited by StalePopcorn on 19 August 2022 at 11:29 am UTC
STiAT Aug 19, 2022
Quoting: Eike
Quoting: randylEmbracer is freaking huge. I've been wondering how they've flown under the radar so well. Maybe it's because of their name change and how little known "Embracer" is. Embracer is the rebranded parent company of THQ Nordic and was also previously named THQ Nordic AB which owned THQ Nordic GmbH. They rebranded to Embracer in 2019.

Some of the subsidiaries Embracer owns and several are massive parent companies in their own right: Amplifier Games, Asmodee, Coffee Stain Holdings, Dark Horse Media, Embracer Freemode, Gearbox Entertainment, Plaion, Saber Interactive, and THQ Nordic. They've also merged several previous brands into their fold or into their subsidiary's holdings group.

Thanks for pointing out!
They also got Koch Media and Deep Silver, both well known at least in German speaking countries.

That they aquired Koch Media 2018 slipped completely past me. They were not that small.

At least they seem to still invest in the kindom come sequel.

THQ /Embracer have almost no reputation for me, since they manage to fly under the media so well.
slaapliedje Aug 20, 2022
Quoting: Kimyrielle
Quoting: EikeThe preview image is chosen so well... :D

A Ferenghi would have been even more fitting, though.
Rules of Acqusition #385: always present a friendlier face to those about to be owned.


Last edited by slaapliedje on 20 August 2022 at 10:38 pm UTC
slaapliedje Aug 20, 2022
Quoting: STiAT
Quoting: Eike
Quoting: randylEmbracer is freaking huge. I've been wondering how they've flown under the radar so well. Maybe it's because of their name change and how little known "Embracer" is. Embracer is the rebranded parent company of THQ Nordic and was also previously named THQ Nordic AB which owned THQ Nordic GmbH. They rebranded to Embracer in 2019.

Some of the subsidiaries Embracer owns and several are massive parent companies in their own right: Amplifier Games, Asmodee, Coffee Stain Holdings, Dark Horse Media, Embracer Freemode, Gearbox Entertainment, Plaion, Saber Interactive, and THQ Nordic. They've also merged several previous brands into their fold or into their subsidiary's holdings group.

Thanks for pointing out!
They also got Koch Media and Deep Silver, both well known at least in German speaking countries.

That they aquired Koch Media 2018 slipped completely past me. They were not that small.

At least they seem to still invest in the kindom come sequel.

THQ /Embracer have almost no reputation for me, since they manage to fly under the media so well.
THQ and Deep Silver at least have been releasing a decent amount of Linux Native games too. So they can't be all that bad, can they? Right?
F.Ultra Aug 21, 2022
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Quoting: Comandante ÑoñardoIs Embracer Group on stock market or is a 100% private?

They are a publicly traded company, the three main owners (Lars Wingefors [Embracer, former THQ Nordic], Matthew Karch [Saber Interactive] and Andrey Iones[Saber Interactice]) together owns aprox 60% of the votes so they do not have to bend to the will of the other share holders.
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