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PayPalSome potentially good (?) game industry news here, is that Embracer Group and Saber Interactive have split off with a purchase from Beacon Interactive, a company controlled by Saber Interactive co-founder Matthew Karch.
Announced in a press release today from Embracer in a $247 million USD deal it will see Saber Interactive go their own way taking the likes of Nimble Giant, 3D Realms, Slipgate, New World Interactive, Fractured Byte, DIGIC, Saber Interactive Inc., Sandbox Strategies and Mad Head Games with them.
Embracer will retain 34 Big Things, Shiver, 4A Games, Aspyr, Snapshot, Beamdog, Tuxedo Labs, Demiurge, Tripwire and Zen Studios. However, Saber Interactive do have the option to acquire 4A Games and Zen Studios "for a fixed price within a certain time period", but even if they do Embracer will continue to have the "Long-term license and publishing rights to all current and future PC/console games in the Metro franchise". According to Jason Schreier of Bloomberg, Saber confirmed in an email to staff they saw that Saber has already decided to take 4A Games and Zen Studios which actually brings the price to around $500 million USD.
On top of that Embracer said will also continue to retain various projects listed below, including two joint projects:
- The next AAA game from 4A Games.
- An unannounced concept phase AAA game.
- A previously announced AAA game based on a major license.
- A new AAA multiplayer shooter based on a controlled IP.
- A new AA game based on an Asmodee IP.
- A new AA game from 34 Big Things based on an owned IP.
- Killing Floor 3.
- Teardown (ongoing development).
- The full upcoming pipeline and back catalog from Zen Studios, Aspyr and Tripwire.
Some you may have missed, popular articles from the last month:
Good news. Although I was hoping Aspyr and Zen Studios would have also gone with Saber
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pleasereadthemanual Mar 14
The last game I heard 3D Realms associated with was around 30 years ago. Now I'm curious what they've been up to.
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Quoting: pleasereadthemanualThe last game I heard 3D Realms associated with was around 30 years ago. Now I'm curious what they've been up to.That's easy: https://3drealms.com/
I'm not really into shooters these days, but I do recognize Ion Fury and I watched Samsai stream Wrath: Aeon of Ruin only last week. Seems solid.
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Quoting: pleasereadthemanualThe last game I heard 3D Realms associated with was around 30 years ago. Now I'm curious what they've been up to.
They are publishing Tempest Rising, which is a highly anticipated RTS that will be releasing soon.
Last edited by KohlyKohl on 14 March 2024 at 2:05 pm UTC
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Quoting: tuubiWraith is great. It got a lot of heat for taking forever to come out of Early Access, but despite updates being slow and often minor, it always felt and looked great. I haven't played the final version yet, but I really liked the EA versions and from the streams I've seen, the final version does indeed look improved and a nice expansion on the EA version.Quoting: pleasereadthemanualThe last game I heard 3D Realms associated with was around 30 years ago. Now I'm curious what they've been up to.That's easy: https://3drealms.com/
I'm not really into shooters these days, but I do recognize Ion Fury and I watched Samsai stream Wrath: Aeon of Ruin only last week. Seems solid.
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I'm eagerly awaiting the day the article is posted "Embracer group files for bankruptcy". Until then, seeing more studio free of their clutches is great news.
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It looks less like someone buying companies and more like a deal between two sports teams--"And you get so-and-so, but I get a first round draft pick . . ."
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Quoting: JarmerI'm eagerly awaiting the day the article is posted "Embracer group files for bankruptcy". Until then, seeing more studio free of their clutches is great news.
Quoting: Purple Library GuyIt looks less like someone buying companies and more like a deal between two sports teams--"And you get so-and-so, but I get a first round draft pick . . ."
The selling of Saber have nothing to do with the financial status of Embracer or with their previous missed investments. This is simple done because Saber is Russian and the CEO of Embracer is also involved with renting out property to (among others) the Swedish Defense and they simply have let him know that he should either cut ties with Russia or with them, he can't have both. And it also looks like their business with Saber is infringing on the export embargo on Russia.
edit: I've added a google translate version of an article from SVT (Swedish public broadcasting similar to BBC) who where the ones that "exposed" all of this. Machine translation which also means that he is labelled as "gambling" when they mean computer games:
QuoteGambling billionaire Lars Wingefors and the Embracer Group's business in Russia are identified by security experts as a security risk. This is because Wingefors also owns properties that are rented out to companies in the Swedish defense industry.
Lars Wingefors is the real owner of the gaming group Embracer, which, according to the Kyiv School of Economics, is the Swedish company with the largest turnover in Russia. At the same time, Lars Wingefors is the main owner of a property company that owns most of the premises in the Bofors industrial area in Karlskoga. Among the tenants are several companies in the defense industry.
- You can be exposed to blackmail, infiltration or other things that can spill over into the real estate business, says the security policy expert Patrik Oksanen.
High exposure – high risk
Patrik Oksanen mainly works with security policy at the think tank Frivärld, but also has assignments at the Norwegian Defense Academy and is a member of the Royal Academy of Military Sciences.
- The greater the financial exposure to Russia, the greater the risk, he says of Wingefor's business.
According to an examination by Sveriges Radio, the Embracer group has a turnover of over SEK 350 million and employs close to 900 people in Russia.
In the video above, Patrik Oksanen develops his view of Lars Wingefor's business as a security risk.
Russia connection not known
Among Wingefor's tenants are the defense industry companies Prevas, PartnerTech and Saab. Representatives of Prevas and PartnerTech state that the connection between the property owner and Russia was unknown to them. Saab does not comment on that information at all.
The entire Bofors industrial area is, however, a protected object. This means that you may not stay within the area without permission, photograph, measure or otherwise depict the buildings in the fenced area.
Don't want to comment
Lars Wingefors does not appear for an interview. In a text message, however, he states that security work is A and O for him and his businesses, and that the regulations surrounding listed companies, such as Embracer, are surrounded by rigorous regulations regarding the handling of independence and information.
Last edited by F.Ultra on 14 March 2024 at 3:21 pm UTC
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I was hoping that Embracer would lose rights to 4A and the metro franchise.
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