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Some 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.
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F.Ultra Mar 18
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Quoting: Fremen
Quoting: F.Ultra
Quoting: Fremen
Quoting: Alm888I despise Embracer Group and PLAION while not particularly caring for Saber Interactive or other studios mentioned in the news.

So… Is it good news? If anything, this shows that Embracer/PLAION is struggling to stay afloat and in desperate need for cash. Good.
Quoting: F.UltraThe 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.
[sarcasm]So, Nimble Giant, 3D Realms, Slipgate, New World Interactive, Fractured Byte, DIGIC, Sandbox Strategies and Mad Head Games are Russian too. Good to know.[/sarcasm]
If Embracer/PLAION could absolutely not have any dealings with anything "Russian" (yeah, sure, like such a thing as "Russian Game Studio" exists… ) then why now? Not, let's say, two years ago?

Yeah don't think it has anything to do with Russia either. Probably Embracer selling off studios that aren't profitable (and Saber hasn't been exactly profitable in the last little while).

In the article the CEO's name is Matthew Karch, which is not a Russian name

Russia does have game studios like 1C or Mundfish

Quoting: Fremen
Quoting: Alm888I despise Embracer Group and PLAION while not particularly caring for Saber Interactive or other studios mentioned in the news.

So… Is it good news? If anything, this shows that Embracer/PLAION is struggling to stay afloat and in desperate need for cash. Good.
Quoting: F.UltraThe 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.
[sarcasm]So, Nimble Giant, 3D Realms, Slipgate, New World Interactive, Fractured Byte, DIGIC, Sandbox Strategies and Mad Head Games are Russian too. Good to know.[/sarcasm]
If Embracer/PLAION could absolutely not have any dealings with anything "Russian" (yeah, sure, like such a thing as "Russian Game Studio" exists… ) then why now? Not, let's say, two years ago?

Yeah don't think it has anything to do with Russia either. Probably Embracer selling off studios that aren't profitable (and Saber hasn't been exactly profitable in the last little while).

In the article the CEO's name is Matthew Karch, which is not a Russian name

Russia does have game studios like 1C or Mundfish

Did you two even look at the text I quoted from the news article? Aka "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"?

So let's look at the history of Saber:
QuoteSaber Interactive was founded in 2001 by Andrey Iones, Matthew Karch, and Anton Krupkin.[5][6] Together they created a 3D engine from scratch, gathered a team of artists from Saint Petersburg, Russia and began working on their first game
...
On August 1, 2016, Saber Interactive opened its first internal studio outside of Russia

Ok so was created in Russia and had a Russia only presence for 15 years. Still convinced that Saber have zero to do with Russia?

For crying out loud, it was national news over here when SVT exposed all of this.

7 sep 2023: Gaming billionaire Lars Wingefors is designated as a security risk - has business in both Russia and the Swedish defense industry

7 feb 2024: After SVT's reveal: Embracer wants to liquidate in Russia

14 mar 2024: After SVT's reveal: Embracer is leaving Russia

And press release from Embracer: Embracer Group ceases all operations in Russia through the divestment of selected assets from the operative group Saber Interactive

The last link in English, all others in Swedish.

We now quote the "Kiev School of Econoimcs" as a remotely reliable source?

Plus Sweden is notoriously Russophobic, just because a few people with Russian sounding names opened a company does not make it "Russian". Besides, Saber has been an international company for ages - I am highly skeptical of claims it remains "Russian". Especially considering Russia doesn't have a gaming industry.
They might not be a reliable source of information for how to do things and such, but when it comes to information on which swedish company that have the largest economic investment inside Russia? Yes I would count them as a reliable source for that kind of information.

No one is claiming that Saber is "Russians", the claim is that Saber have studios and economic resources inside Russia, also no one is making that claim based on the names of the founders, it is based on the very fact that the company was founded in St Petersburg, you know that this is a city in Russia yes? They also opened their first studio outside of Russia in 2016 after having operated for 15 years (so obviously they have something inside Russia or do you suggest that they just sat there doing nothing for 15 years?)

And no gaming industry in Russia? The Russian gaming market was worth $3.4B in 2021. I'm not entirely sure what your point is here.

Quoting: Alm888Anyone who wants to see how Embracer/PLAION/Koch Media deals with true Russian gamedev companies can look at authors of "Encased: A Sci-Fi Post-Apocalyptic RPG" ("Dark Crystal Games"). It took Embracer less than a week to cut all contacts, stop all game support (including readied but never to be released patch 1.4) and run away with the money.

So no, I wont buy this "We can't deal with pesky Russians" story.

So let me get this straight, Embracer themselves and all media is lying for some unknown nefarious reason?

Also not entirely sure why you are conflating layoffs with finding buyers for valuable assets that you suddenly have to sell off? Remeber that Saber was a founding member of Embracer so this is not something that they really wanted to do.


Last edited by F.Ultra on 18 March 2024 at 3:47 pm UTC
Fremen Mar 18
Quoting: F.Ultra
Quoting: Fremen
Quoting: F.Ultra
Quoting: Fremen
Quoting: Alm888I despise Embracer Group and PLAION while not particularly caring for Saber Interactive or other studios mentioned in the news.

So… Is it good news? If anything, this shows that Embracer/PLAION is struggling to stay afloat and in desperate need for cash. Good.
Quoting: F.UltraThe 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.
[sarcasm]So, Nimble Giant, 3D Realms, Slipgate, New World Interactive, Fractured Byte, DIGIC, Sandbox Strategies and Mad Head Games are Russian too. Good to know.[/sarcasm]
If Embracer/PLAION could absolutely not have any dealings with anything "Russian" (yeah, sure, like such a thing as "Russian Game Studio" exists… ) then why now? Not, let's say, two years ago?

Yeah don't think it has anything to do with Russia either. Probably Embracer selling off studios that aren't profitable (and Saber hasn't been exactly profitable in the last little while).

In the article the CEO's name is Matthew Karch, which is not a Russian name

Russia does have game studios like 1C or Mundfish

Quoting: Fremen
Quoting: Alm888I despise Embracer Group and PLAION while not particularly caring for Saber Interactive or other studios mentioned in the news.

So… Is it good news? If anything, this shows that Embracer/PLAION is struggling to stay afloat and in desperate need for cash. Good.
Quoting: F.UltraThe 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.
[sarcasm]So, Nimble Giant, 3D Realms, Slipgate, New World Interactive, Fractured Byte, DIGIC, Sandbox Strategies and Mad Head Games are Russian too. Good to know.[/sarcasm]
If Embracer/PLAION could absolutely not have any dealings with anything "Russian" (yeah, sure, like such a thing as "Russian Game Studio" exists… ) then why now? Not, let's say, two years ago?

Yeah don't think it has anything to do with Russia either. Probably Embracer selling off studios that aren't profitable (and Saber hasn't been exactly profitable in the last little while).

In the article the CEO's name is Matthew Karch, which is not a Russian name

Russia does have game studios like 1C or Mundfish

Did you two even look at the text I quoted from the news article? Aka "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"?

So let's look at the history of Saber:
QuoteSaber Interactive was founded in 2001 by Andrey Iones, Matthew Karch, and Anton Krupkin.[5][6] Together they created a 3D engine from scratch, gathered a team of artists from Saint Petersburg, Russia and began working on their first game
...
On August 1, 2016, Saber Interactive opened its first internal studio outside of Russia

Ok so was created in Russia and had a Russia only presence for 15 years. Still convinced that Saber have zero to do with Russia?

For crying out loud, it was national news over here when SVT exposed all of this.

7 sep 2023: Gaming billionaire Lars Wingefors is designated as a security risk - has business in both Russia and the Swedish defense industry

7 feb 2024: After SVT's reveal: Embracer wants to liquidate in Russia

14 mar 2024: After SVT's reveal: Embracer is leaving Russia

And press release from Embracer: Embracer Group ceases all operations in Russia through the divestment of selected assets from the operative group Saber Interactive

The last link in English, all others in Swedish.

We now quote the "Kiev School of Econoimcs" as a remotely reliable source?

Plus Sweden is notoriously Russophobic, just because a few people with Russian sounding names opened a company does not make it "Russian". Besides, Saber has been an international company for ages - I am highly skeptical of claims it remains "Russian". Especially considering Russia doesn't have a gaming industry.
They might not be a reliable source of information for how to do things and such, but when it comes to information on which swedish company that have the largest economic investment inside Russia? Yes I would count them as a reliable source for that kind of information.

No one is claiming that Saber is "Russians", the claim is that Saber have studios and economic resources inside Russia, also no one is making that claim based on the names of the founders, it is based on the very fact that the company was founded in St Petersburg, you know that this is a city in Russia yes? They also opened their first studio outside of Russia in 2016 after having operated for 15 years (so obviously they have something inside Russia or do you suggest that they just sat there doing nothing for 15 years?)

And no gaming industry in Russia? The Russian gaming market was worth $3.4B in 2021. I'm not entirely sure what your point is here.

Quoting: Alm888Anyone who wants to see how Embracer/PLAION/Koch Media deals with true Russian gamedev companies can look at authors of "Encased: A Sci-Fi Post-Apocalyptic RPG" ("Dark Crystal Games"). It took Embracer less than a week to cut all contacts, stop all game support (including readied but never to be released patch 1.4) and run away with the money.

So no, I wont buy this "We can't deal with pesky Russians" story.

So let me get this straight, Embracer themselves and all media is lying for some unknown nefarious reason?

Also not entirely sure why you are conflating layoffs with finding buyers for valuable assets that you suddenly have to sell off? Remeber that Saber was a founding member of Embracer so this is not something that they really wanted to do.

Just because a company may or may not have been opened in St Petersburg, doesn't mean it is Russian. One of the founders of the company even has a non-Russian name! Look at companies like Mundfish or OwlCatGames, they opened in Moscow but are Cypriote companies and have no issues trading abroad. Same with Saber. Feels like its a purposeful targetting of companies on the claim they have "business in Russia" (which is unconfirmed).


You can join the discord channel for "Encased: A Sci-Fi Post-Apocalyptic RPG" and talk to the lead devs of the project. I can post the discord invite here. They said that they had prepared the patch and wanted to keep the project going as they were passionate about it, but Embracer held the 1.4 patch and started withholding all the money from sales so the company had no means of surviving and so had to close down. There were no "layoffs". There was purposeful and intentional killing of the company for things they didn't do. They said the patch is still in limbo and many people are asking them to upload the patch elsewhere to play but they don't want legal issues. So yeah, I also don't buy the claim that it has to do with "dealing with pesky Russians" as the other poster said.

If you think Russia has a gaming industry - name 3 large games similar to Call of Duty, God of War or WOW that has come out of there. You likely can't because Russia doesn't have a gaming industry.


Last edited by Fremen on 18 March 2024 at 4:18 pm UTC
F.Ultra Mar 18
View PC info
  • Supporter
Quoting: Fremen
Quoting: F.Ultra
Quoting: Fremen
Quoting: F.Ultra
Quoting: Fremen
Quoting: Alm888I despise Embracer Group and PLAION while not particularly caring for Saber Interactive or other studios mentioned in the news.

So… Is it good news? If anything, this shows that Embracer/PLAION is struggling to stay afloat and in desperate need for cash. Good.
Quoting: F.UltraThe 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.
[sarcasm]So, Nimble Giant, 3D Realms, Slipgate, New World Interactive, Fractured Byte, DIGIC, Sandbox Strategies and Mad Head Games are Russian too. Good to know.[/sarcasm]
If Embracer/PLAION could absolutely not have any dealings with anything "Russian" (yeah, sure, like such a thing as "Russian Game Studio" exists… ) then why now? Not, let's say, two years ago?

Yeah don't think it has anything to do with Russia either. Probably Embracer selling off studios that aren't profitable (and Saber hasn't been exactly profitable in the last little while).

In the article the CEO's name is Matthew Karch, which is not a Russian name

Russia does have game studios like 1C or Mundfish

Quoting: Fremen
Quoting: Alm888I despise Embracer Group and PLAION while not particularly caring for Saber Interactive or other studios mentioned in the news.

So… Is it good news? If anything, this shows that Embracer/PLAION is struggling to stay afloat and in desperate need for cash. Good.
Quoting: F.UltraThe 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.
[sarcasm]So, Nimble Giant, 3D Realms, Slipgate, New World Interactive, Fractured Byte, DIGIC, Sandbox Strategies and Mad Head Games are Russian too. Good to know.[/sarcasm]
If Embracer/PLAION could absolutely not have any dealings with anything "Russian" (yeah, sure, like such a thing as "Russian Game Studio" exists… ) then why now? Not, let's say, two years ago?

Yeah don't think it has anything to do with Russia either. Probably Embracer selling off studios that aren't profitable (and Saber hasn't been exactly profitable in the last little while).

In the article the CEO's name is Matthew Karch, which is not a Russian name

Russia does have game studios like 1C or Mundfish

Did you two even look at the text I quoted from the news article? Aka "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"?

So let's look at the history of Saber:
QuoteSaber Interactive was founded in 2001 by Andrey Iones, Matthew Karch, and Anton Krupkin.[5][6] Together they created a 3D engine from scratch, gathered a team of artists from Saint Petersburg, Russia and began working on their first game
...
On August 1, 2016, Saber Interactive opened its first internal studio outside of Russia

Ok so was created in Russia and had a Russia only presence for 15 years. Still convinced that Saber have zero to do with Russia?

For crying out loud, it was national news over here when SVT exposed all of this.

7 sep 2023: Gaming billionaire Lars Wingefors is designated as a security risk - has business in both Russia and the Swedish defense industry

7 feb 2024: After SVT's reveal: Embracer wants to liquidate in Russia

14 mar 2024: After SVT's reveal: Embracer is leaving Russia

And press release from Embracer: Embracer Group ceases all operations in Russia through the divestment of selected assets from the operative group Saber Interactive

The last link in English, all others in Swedish.

We now quote the "Kiev School of Econoimcs" as a remotely reliable source?

Plus Sweden is notoriously Russophobic, just because a few people with Russian sounding names opened a company does not make it "Russian". Besides, Saber has been an international company for ages - I am highly skeptical of claims it remains "Russian". Especially considering Russia doesn't have a gaming industry.
They might not be a reliable source of information for how to do things and such, but when it comes to information on which swedish company that have the largest economic investment inside Russia? Yes I would count them as a reliable source for that kind of information.

No one is claiming that Saber is "Russians", the claim is that Saber have studios and economic resources inside Russia, also no one is making that claim based on the names of the founders, it is based on the very fact that the company was founded in St Petersburg, you know that this is a city in Russia yes? They also opened their first studio outside of Russia in 2016 after having operated for 15 years (so obviously they have something inside Russia or do you suggest that they just sat there doing nothing for 15 years?)

And no gaming industry in Russia? The Russian gaming market was worth $3.4B in 2021. I'm not entirely sure what your point is here.

Quoting: Alm888Anyone who wants to see how Embracer/PLAION/Koch Media deals with true Russian gamedev companies can look at authors of "Encased: A Sci-Fi Post-Apocalyptic RPG" ("Dark Crystal Games"). It took Embracer less than a week to cut all contacts, stop all game support (including readied but never to be released patch 1.4) and run away with the money.

So no, I wont buy this "We can't deal with pesky Russians" story.

So let me get this straight, Embracer themselves and all media is lying for some unknown nefarious reason?

Also not entirely sure why you are conflating layoffs with finding buyers for valuable assets that you suddenly have to sell off? Remeber that Saber was a founding member of Embracer so this is not something that they really wanted to do.

Just because a company may or may not have been opened in St Petersburg, doesn't mean it is Russian. One of the founders of the company even has a non-Russian name! Look at companies like Mundfish or OwlCatGames, they opened in Moscow but are Cypriote companies and have no issues trading abroad. Same with Saber. Feels like its a purposeful targetting of companies on the claim they have "business in Russia" (which is unconfirmed).


You can join the discord channel for "Encased: A Sci-Fi Post-Apocalyptic RPG" and talk to the lead devs of the project. I can post the discord invite here. They said that they had prepared the patch and wanted to keep the project going as they were passionate about it, but Embracer held the 1.4 patch and started withholding all the money from sales so the company had no means of surviving and so had to close down. There were no "layoffs". There was purposeful and intentional killing of the company for things they didn't do. They said the patch is still in limbo and many people are asking them to upload the patch elsewhere to play but they don't want legal issues. So yeah, I also don't buy the claim that it has to do with "dealing with pesky Russians" as the other poster said.

If you think Russia has a gaming industry - name 3 large games similar to Call of Duty, God of War or WOW that has come out of there. You likely can't because Russia doesn't have a gaming industry.

So your theory here is that people falsely accuse Embracer of having studios, and resources in Russia just for the lulz. Then Embracer instead of denying this decides to go with the flow, sells of profitable parts which includes their founding company, Saber and releases a press release where they write "Through this divestment, Embracer ceases all operations in Russia"?

Still have zero clue what Dark Crystal Games have to do with any of this. Embracer did layoffs and project cancellations there as part of their restructuring after their large planned investment went to hell. This case with Saber is them selling off profitable studios for a total of $247M.

You argue like they should have just liquidated the Saber parts and thus loose $247M if they wanted to get rid of the Russia stuff. That doesn't make any sense in the world.

And sorry, didn't know that only games the size of Call of Duty counted, then lots of countries doesn't have game studios anymore if that is the definition.

This are the studios listed on Wikipedia that Saber have in Russia: Bytex, Saber St. Petersburg, SmartPhone Labs and Stuntworks. But I take it that this list is faked as well?
Fremen Mar 18
Quoting: F.Ultra
Quoting: Fremen
Quoting: F.Ultra
Quoting: Fremen
Quoting: F.Ultra
Quoting: Fremen
Quoting: Alm888I despise Embracer Group and PLAION while not particularly caring for Saber Interactive or other studios mentioned in the news.

So… Is it good news? If anything, this shows that Embracer/PLAION is struggling to stay afloat and in desperate need for cash. Good.
Quoting: F.UltraThe 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.
[sarcasm]So, Nimble Giant, 3D Realms, Slipgate, New World Interactive, Fractured Byte, DIGIC, Sandbox Strategies and Mad Head Games are Russian too. Good to know.[/sarcasm]
If Embracer/PLAION could absolutely not have any dealings with anything "Russian" (yeah, sure, like such a thing as "Russian Game Studio" exists… ) then why now? Not, let's say, two years ago?

Yeah don't think it has anything to do with Russia either. Probably Embracer selling off studios that aren't profitable (and Saber hasn't been exactly profitable in the last little while).

In the article the CEO's name is Matthew Karch, which is not a Russian name

Russia does have game studios like 1C or Mundfish

Quoting: Fremen
Quoting: Alm888I despise Embracer Group and PLAION while not particularly caring for Saber Interactive or other studios mentioned in the news.

So… Is it good news? If anything, this shows that Embracer/PLAION is struggling to stay afloat and in desperate need for cash. Good.
Quoting: F.UltraThe 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.
[sarcasm]So, Nimble Giant, 3D Realms, Slipgate, New World Interactive, Fractured Byte, DIGIC, Sandbox Strategies and Mad Head Games are Russian too. Good to know.[/sarcasm]
If Embracer/PLAION could absolutely not have any dealings with anything "Russian" (yeah, sure, like such a thing as "Russian Game Studio" exists… ) then why now? Not, let's say, two years ago?

Yeah don't think it has anything to do with Russia either. Probably Embracer selling off studios that aren't profitable (and Saber hasn't been exactly profitable in the last little while).

In the article the CEO's name is Matthew Karch, which is not a Russian name

Russia does have game studios like 1C or Mundfish

Did you two even look at the text I quoted from the news article? Aka "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"?

So let's look at the history of Saber:
QuoteSaber Interactive was founded in 2001 by Andrey Iones, Matthew Karch, and Anton Krupkin.[5][6] Together they created a 3D engine from scratch, gathered a team of artists from Saint Petersburg, Russia and began working on their first game
...
On August 1, 2016, Saber Interactive opened its first internal studio outside of Russia

Ok so was created in Russia and had a Russia only presence for 15 years. Still convinced that Saber have zero to do with Russia?

For crying out loud, it was national news over here when SVT exposed all of this.

7 sep 2023: Gaming billionaire Lars Wingefors is designated as a security risk - has business in both Russia and the Swedish defense industry

7 feb 2024: After SVT's reveal: Embracer wants to liquidate in Russia

14 mar 2024: After SVT's reveal: Embracer is leaving Russia

And press release from Embracer: Embracer Group ceases all operations in Russia through the divestment of selected assets from the operative group Saber Interactive

The last link in English, all others in Swedish.

We now quote the "Kiev School of Econoimcs" as a remotely reliable source?

Plus Sweden is notoriously Russophobic, just because a few people with Russian sounding names opened a company does not make it "Russian". Besides, Saber has been an international company for ages - I am highly skeptical of claims it remains "Russian". Especially considering Russia doesn't have a gaming industry.
They might not be a reliable source of information for how to do things and such, but when it comes to information on which swedish company that have the largest economic investment inside Russia? Yes I would count them as a reliable source for that kind of information.

No one is claiming that Saber is "Russians", the claim is that Saber have studios and economic resources inside Russia, also no one is making that claim based on the names of the founders, it is based on the very fact that the company was founded in St Petersburg, you know that this is a city in Russia yes? They also opened their first studio outside of Russia in 2016 after having operated for 15 years (so obviously they have something inside Russia or do you suggest that they just sat there doing nothing for 15 years?)

And no gaming industry in Russia? The Russian gaming market was worth $3.4B in 2021. I'm not entirely sure what your point is here.

Quoting: Alm888Anyone who wants to see how Embracer/PLAION/Koch Media deals with true Russian gamedev companies can look at authors of "Encased: A Sci-Fi Post-Apocalyptic RPG" ("Dark Crystal Games"). It took Embracer less than a week to cut all contacts, stop all game support (including readied but never to be released patch 1.4) and run away with the money.

So no, I wont buy this "We can't deal with pesky Russians" story.

So let me get this straight, Embracer themselves and all media is lying for some unknown nefarious reason?

Also not entirely sure why you are conflating layoffs with finding buyers for valuable assets that you suddenly have to sell off? Remeber that Saber was a founding member of Embracer so this is not something that they really wanted to do.

Just because a company may or may not have been opened in St Petersburg, doesn't mean it is Russian. One of the founders of the company even has a non-Russian name! Look at companies like Mundfish or OwlCatGames, they opened in Moscow but are Cypriote companies and have no issues trading abroad. Same with Saber. Feels like its a purposeful targetting of companies on the claim they have "business in Russia" (which is unconfirmed).


You can join the discord channel for "Encased: A Sci-Fi Post-Apocalyptic RPG" and talk to the lead devs of the project. I can post the discord invite here. They said that they had prepared the patch and wanted to keep the project going as they were passionate about it, but Embracer held the 1.4 patch and started withholding all the money from sales so the company had no means of surviving and so had to close down. There were no "layoffs". There was purposeful and intentional killing of the company for things they didn't do. They said the patch is still in limbo and many people are asking them to upload the patch elsewhere to play but they don't want legal issues. So yeah, I also don't buy the claim that it has to do with "dealing with pesky Russians" as the other poster said.

If you think Russia has a gaming industry - name 3 large games similar to Call of Duty, God of War or WOW that has come out of there. You likely can't because Russia doesn't have a gaming industry.

So your theory here is that people falsely accuse Embracer of having studios, and resources in Russia just for the lulz. Then Embracer instead of denying this decides to go with the flow, sells of profitable parts which includes their founding company, Saber and releases a press release where they write "Through this divestment, Embracer ceases all operations in Russia"?

Still have zero clue what Dark Crystal Games have to do with any of this. Embracer did layoffs and project cancellations there as part of their restructuring after their large planned investment went to hell. This case with Saber is them selling off profitable studios for a total of $247M.

You argue like they should have just liquidated the Saber parts and thus loose $247M if they wanted to get rid of the Russia stuff. That doesn't make any sense in the world.

And sorry, didn't know that only games the size of Call of Duty counted, then lots of countries doesn't have game studios anymore if that is the definition.

This are the studios listed on Wikipedia that Saber have in Russia: Bytex, Saber St. Petersburg, SmartPhone Labs and Stuntworks. But I take it that this list is faked as well?

My "theory" is that for political reasons the owner/CEO of Embracer was having troubles and to force him to behave they blamed the dastardly Russians (after all what better excuse do they need).

What do layoffs have to do with Encased? Encased team wasn't laid off. They were working on the game prior to Embracer beginning to withhold payments and completed patches for the game. This just goes to show that Embracer had already "ceased operations" in Russia prior to this and that this is merely an official confirmation of what they did years ago for political reasons.

See you even support my claim - Saber is not a Russian company. Saber may have a studio in St Petersburg, but so did Microsoft. Did that make Microsoft a Russian company? The fact that Saber bought its freedom from Embracer doesn't have anything to do with Russia and has everything to do with Embracers financial problems/internal Swedish politics.
F.Ultra Mar 18
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Quoting: Fremen
Quoting: F.Ultra
Quoting: Fremen
Quoting: F.Ultra
Quoting: Fremen
Quoting: F.Ultra
Quoting: Fremen
Quoting: Alm888I despise Embracer Group and PLAION while not particularly caring for Saber Interactive or other studios mentioned in the news.

So… Is it good news? If anything, this shows that Embracer/PLAION is struggling to stay afloat and in desperate need for cash. Good.
Quoting: F.UltraThe 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.
[sarcasm]So, Nimble Giant, 3D Realms, Slipgate, New World Interactive, Fractured Byte, DIGIC, Sandbox Strategies and Mad Head Games are Russian too. Good to know.[/sarcasm]
If Embracer/PLAION could absolutely not have any dealings with anything "Russian" (yeah, sure, like such a thing as "Russian Game Studio" exists… ) then why now? Not, let's say, two years ago?

Yeah don't think it has anything to do with Russia either. Probably Embracer selling off studios that aren't profitable (and Saber hasn't been exactly profitable in the last little while).

In the article the CEO's name is Matthew Karch, which is not a Russian name

Russia does have game studios like 1C or Mundfish

Quoting: Fremen
Quoting: Alm888I despise Embracer Group and PLAION while not particularly caring for Saber Interactive or other studios mentioned in the news.

So… Is it good news? If anything, this shows that Embracer/PLAION is struggling to stay afloat and in desperate need for cash. Good.
Quoting: F.UltraThe 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.
[sarcasm]So, Nimble Giant, 3D Realms, Slipgate, New World Interactive, Fractured Byte, DIGIC, Sandbox Strategies and Mad Head Games are Russian too. Good to know.[/sarcasm]
If Embracer/PLAION could absolutely not have any dealings with anything "Russian" (yeah, sure, like such a thing as "Russian Game Studio" exists… ) then why now? Not, let's say, two years ago?

Yeah don't think it has anything to do with Russia either. Probably Embracer selling off studios that aren't profitable (and Saber hasn't been exactly profitable in the last little while).

In the article the CEO's name is Matthew Karch, which is not a Russian name

Russia does have game studios like 1C or Mundfish

Did you two even look at the text I quoted from the news article? Aka "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"?

So let's look at the history of Saber:
QuoteSaber Interactive was founded in 2001 by Andrey Iones, Matthew Karch, and Anton Krupkin.[5][6] Together they created a 3D engine from scratch, gathered a team of artists from Saint Petersburg, Russia and began working on their first game
...
On August 1, 2016, Saber Interactive opened its first internal studio outside of Russia

Ok so was created in Russia and had a Russia only presence for 15 years. Still convinced that Saber have zero to do with Russia?

For crying out loud, it was national news over here when SVT exposed all of this.

7 sep 2023: Gaming billionaire Lars Wingefors is designated as a security risk - has business in both Russia and the Swedish defense industry

7 feb 2024: After SVT's reveal: Embracer wants to liquidate in Russia

14 mar 2024: After SVT's reveal: Embracer is leaving Russia

And press release from Embracer: Embracer Group ceases all operations in Russia through the divestment of selected assets from the operative group Saber Interactive

The last link in English, all others in Swedish.

We now quote the "Kiev School of Econoimcs" as a remotely reliable source?

Plus Sweden is notoriously Russophobic, just because a few people with Russian sounding names opened a company does not make it "Russian". Besides, Saber has been an international company for ages - I am highly skeptical of claims it remains "Russian". Especially considering Russia doesn't have a gaming industry.
They might not be a reliable source of information for how to do things and such, but when it comes to information on which swedish company that have the largest economic investment inside Russia? Yes I would count them as a reliable source for that kind of information.

No one is claiming that Saber is "Russians", the claim is that Saber have studios and economic resources inside Russia, also no one is making that claim based on the names of the founders, it is based on the very fact that the company was founded in St Petersburg, you know that this is a city in Russia yes? They also opened their first studio outside of Russia in 2016 after having operated for 15 years (so obviously they have something inside Russia or do you suggest that they just sat there doing nothing for 15 years?)

And no gaming industry in Russia? The Russian gaming market was worth $3.4B in 2021. I'm not entirely sure what your point is here.

Quoting: Alm888Anyone who wants to see how Embracer/PLAION/Koch Media deals with true Russian gamedev companies can look at authors of "Encased: A Sci-Fi Post-Apocalyptic RPG" ("Dark Crystal Games"). It took Embracer less than a week to cut all contacts, stop all game support (including readied but never to be released patch 1.4) and run away with the money.

So no, I wont buy this "We can't deal with pesky Russians" story.

So let me get this straight, Embracer themselves and all media is lying for some unknown nefarious reason?

Also not entirely sure why you are conflating layoffs with finding buyers for valuable assets that you suddenly have to sell off? Remeber that Saber was a founding member of Embracer so this is not something that they really wanted to do.

Just because a company may or may not have been opened in St Petersburg, doesn't mean it is Russian. One of the founders of the company even has a non-Russian name! Look at companies like Mundfish or OwlCatGames, they opened in Moscow but are Cypriote companies and have no issues trading abroad. Same with Saber. Feels like its a purposeful targetting of companies on the claim they have "business in Russia" (which is unconfirmed).


You can join the discord channel for "Encased: A Sci-Fi Post-Apocalyptic RPG" and talk to the lead devs of the project. I can post the discord invite here. They said that they had prepared the patch and wanted to keep the project going as they were passionate about it, but Embracer held the 1.4 patch and started withholding all the money from sales so the company had no means of surviving and so had to close down. There were no "layoffs". There was purposeful and intentional killing of the company for things they didn't do. They said the patch is still in limbo and many people are asking them to upload the patch elsewhere to play but they don't want legal issues. So yeah, I also don't buy the claim that it has to do with "dealing with pesky Russians" as the other poster said.

If you think Russia has a gaming industry - name 3 large games similar to Call of Duty, God of War or WOW that has come out of there. You likely can't because Russia doesn't have a gaming industry.

So your theory here is that people falsely accuse Embracer of having studios, and resources in Russia just for the lulz. Then Embracer instead of denying this decides to go with the flow, sells of profitable parts which includes their founding company, Saber and releases a press release where they write "Through this divestment, Embracer ceases all operations in Russia"?

Still have zero clue what Dark Crystal Games have to do with any of this. Embracer did layoffs and project cancellations there as part of their restructuring after their large planned investment went to hell. This case with Saber is them selling off profitable studios for a total of $247M.

You argue like they should have just liquidated the Saber parts and thus loose $247M if they wanted to get rid of the Russia stuff. That doesn't make any sense in the world.

And sorry, didn't know that only games the size of Call of Duty counted, then lots of countries doesn't have game studios anymore if that is the definition.

This are the studios listed on Wikipedia that Saber have in Russia: Bytex, Saber St. Petersburg, SmartPhone Labs and Stuntworks. But I take it that this list is faked as well?

My "theory" is that for political reasons the owner/CEO of Embracer was having troubles and to force him to behave they blamed the dastardly Russians (after all what better excuse do they need).

What do layoffs have to do with Encased? Encased team wasn't laid off. They were working on the game prior to Embracer beginning to withhold payments and completed patches for the game. This just goes to show that Embracer had already "ceased operations" in Russia prior to this and that this is merely an official confirmation of what they did years ago for political reasons.

See you even support my claim - Saber is not a Russian company. Saber may have a studio in St Petersburg, but so did Microsoft. Did that make Microsoft a Russian company? The fact that Saber bought its freedom from Embracer doesn't have anything to do with Russia and has everything to do with Embracers financial problems/internal Swedish politics.

And what are those political reasons?

And it would help if you where reading what I write, I did not say that Saber was a Russian company (my very first comment might have been a bit badly worded but I have written about this now in several comments to you), I did say that Saber was the owner of those Russian resources that where the problem for Embracer.

Layoffs have to do with it because Embracer was doing layoffs and cutbacks in some of it's subsidies, including Dark Crystal, at the time of the events that you describe happening to that game. And how on earth can you not see that there is a world of difference between cutting down + ceasing payments for a small subsidiary vs selling of assets worth $247M? Your argument here is that Embracer should just throw $247M in the trash to cease business in Russia instead of selling of the assets, you have yet to explain this part.

And btw, what are your problems with the Kyiv School of Economics? Is it just because they are from Ukraine? I think I might have started to get why you are so upset about my comments.


Last edited by F.Ultra on 18 March 2024 at 8:18 pm UTC
Alm888 Mar 19
Quoting: F.UltraSo let me get this straight, Embracer themselves and all media is lying for some unknown nefarious reason?
Like that is something new to them…

Lying? Yes, absolutely. "Nefarious"? Not at all! Just protecting Public Image by trying to mask their nearly catastrophic financial state. You know, Shareholders won't be pleased if PLAION's stock market value plummets.

Quoting: F.UltraAlso not entirely sure why you are conflating layoffs with finding buyers for valuable assets that you suddenly have to sell off? Remeber that Saber was a founding member of Embracer so this is not something that they really wanted to do.
They need cash. Embracer has purchased a lot of dead gamedev studios in order to make an impression of a really big company. They are broke. Most of the dead weight they've got can not be re-sold in a timely manner. These studios are the only ones Embracer could find a buyer for.
Fremen Mar 19
Quoting: F.Ultra
Quoting: Fremen
Quoting: F.Ultra
Quoting: Fremen
Quoting: F.Ultra
Quoting: Fremen
Quoting: F.Ultra
Quoting: Fremen
Quoting: Alm888I despise Embracer Group and PLAION while not particularly caring for Saber Interactive or other studios mentioned in the news.

So… Is it good news? If anything, this shows that Embracer/PLAION is struggling to stay afloat and in desperate need for cash. Good.
Quoting: F.UltraThe 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.
[sarcasm]So, Nimble Giant, 3D Realms, Slipgate, New World Interactive, Fractured Byte, DIGIC, Sandbox Strategies and Mad Head Games are Russian too. Good to know.[/sarcasm]
If Embracer/PLAION could absolutely not have any dealings with anything "Russian" (yeah, sure, like such a thing as "Russian Game Studio" exists… ) then why now? Not, let's say, two years ago?

Yeah don't think it has anything to do with Russia either. Probably Embracer selling off studios that aren't profitable (and Saber hasn't been exactly profitable in the last little while).

In the article the CEO's name is Matthew Karch, which is not a Russian name

Russia does have game studios like 1C or Mundfish

Quoting: Fremen
Quoting: Alm888I despise Embracer Group and PLAION while not particularly caring for Saber Interactive or other studios mentioned in the news.

So… Is it good news? If anything, this shows that Embracer/PLAION is struggling to stay afloat and in desperate need for cash. Good.
Quoting: F.UltraThe 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.
[sarcasm]So, Nimble Giant, 3D Realms, Slipgate, New World Interactive, Fractured Byte, DIGIC, Sandbox Strategies and Mad Head Games are Russian too. Good to know.[/sarcasm]
If Embracer/PLAION could absolutely not have any dealings with anything "Russian" (yeah, sure, like such a thing as "Russian Game Studio" exists… ) then why now? Not, let's say, two years ago?

Yeah don't think it has anything to do with Russia either. Probably Embracer selling off studios that aren't profitable (and Saber hasn't been exactly profitable in the last little while).

In the article the CEO's name is Matthew Karch, which is not a Russian name

Russia does have game studios like 1C or Mundfish

Did you two even look at the text I quoted from the news article? Aka "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"?

So let's look at the history of Saber:
QuoteSaber Interactive was founded in 2001 by Andrey Iones, Matthew Karch, and Anton Krupkin.[5][6] Together they created a 3D engine from scratch, gathered a team of artists from Saint Petersburg, Russia and began working on their first game
...
On August 1, 2016, Saber Interactive opened its first internal studio outside of Russia

Ok so was created in Russia and had a Russia only presence for 15 years. Still convinced that Saber have zero to do with Russia?

For crying out loud, it was national news over here when SVT exposed all of this.

7 sep 2023: Gaming billionaire Lars Wingefors is designated as a security risk - has business in both Russia and the Swedish defense industry

7 feb 2024: After SVT's reveal: Embracer wants to liquidate in Russia

14 mar 2024: After SVT's reveal: Embracer is leaving Russia

And press release from Embracer: Embracer Group ceases all operations in Russia through the divestment of selected assets from the operative group Saber Interactive

The last link in English, all others in Swedish.

We now quote the "Kiev School of Econoimcs" as a remotely reliable source?

Plus Sweden is notoriously Russophobic, just because a few people with Russian sounding names opened a company does not make it "Russian". Besides, Saber has been an international company for ages - I am highly skeptical of claims it remains "Russian". Especially considering Russia doesn't have a gaming industry.
They might not be a reliable source of information for how to do things and such, but when it comes to information on which swedish company that have the largest economic investment inside Russia? Yes I would count them as a reliable source for that kind of information.

No one is claiming that Saber is "Russians", the claim is that Saber have studios and economic resources inside Russia, also no one is making that claim based on the names of the founders, it is based on the very fact that the company was founded in St Petersburg, you know that this is a city in Russia yes? They also opened their first studio outside of Russia in 2016 after having operated for 15 years (so obviously they have something inside Russia or do you suggest that they just sat there doing nothing for 15 years?)

And no gaming industry in Russia? The Russian gaming market was worth $3.4B in 2021. I'm not entirely sure what your point is here.

Quoting: Alm888Anyone who wants to see how Embracer/PLAION/Koch Media deals with true Russian gamedev companies can look at authors of "Encased: A Sci-Fi Post-Apocalyptic RPG" ("Dark Crystal Games"). It took Embracer less than a week to cut all contacts, stop all game support (including readied but never to be released patch 1.4) and run away with the money.

So no, I wont buy this "We can't deal with pesky Russians" story.

So let me get this straight, Embracer themselves and all media is lying for some unknown nefarious reason?

Also not entirely sure why you are conflating layoffs with finding buyers for valuable assets that you suddenly have to sell off? Remeber that Saber was a founding member of Embracer so this is not something that they really wanted to do.

Just because a company may or may not have been opened in St Petersburg, doesn't mean it is Russian. One of the founders of the company even has a non-Russian name! Look at companies like Mundfish or OwlCatGames, they opened in Moscow but are Cypriote companies and have no issues trading abroad. Same with Saber. Feels like its a purposeful targetting of companies on the claim they have "business in Russia" (which is unconfirmed).


You can join the discord channel for "Encased: A Sci-Fi Post-Apocalyptic RPG" and talk to the lead devs of the project. I can post the discord invite here. They said that they had prepared the patch and wanted to keep the project going as they were passionate about it, but Embracer held the 1.4 patch and started withholding all the money from sales so the company had no means of surviving and so had to close down. There were no "layoffs". There was purposeful and intentional killing of the company for things they didn't do. They said the patch is still in limbo and many people are asking them to upload the patch elsewhere to play but they don't want legal issues. So yeah, I also don't buy the claim that it has to do with "dealing with pesky Russians" as the other poster said.

If you think Russia has a gaming industry - name 3 large games similar to Call of Duty, God of War or WOW that has come out of there. You likely can't because Russia doesn't have a gaming industry.

So your theory here is that people falsely accuse Embracer of having studios, and resources in Russia just for the lulz. Then Embracer instead of denying this decides to go with the flow, sells of profitable parts which includes their founding company, Saber and releases a press release where they write "Through this divestment, Embracer ceases all operations in Russia"?

Still have zero clue what Dark Crystal Games have to do with any of this. Embracer did layoffs and project cancellations there as part of their restructuring after their large planned investment went to hell. This case with Saber is them selling off profitable studios for a total of $247M.

You argue like they should have just liquidated the Saber parts and thus loose $247M if they wanted to get rid of the Russia stuff. That doesn't make any sense in the world.

And sorry, didn't know that only games the size of Call of Duty counted, then lots of countries doesn't have game studios anymore if that is the definition.

This are the studios listed on Wikipedia that Saber have in Russia: Bytex, Saber St. Petersburg, SmartPhone Labs and Stuntworks. But I take it that this list is faked as well?

My "theory" is that for political reasons the owner/CEO of Embracer was having troubles and to force him to behave they blamed the dastardly Russians (after all what better excuse do they need).

What do layoffs have to do with Encased? Encased team wasn't laid off. They were working on the game prior to Embracer beginning to withhold payments and completed patches for the game. This just goes to show that Embracer had already "ceased operations" in Russia prior to this and that this is merely an official confirmation of what they did years ago for political reasons.

See you even support my claim - Saber is not a Russian company. Saber may have a studio in St Petersburg, but so did Microsoft. Did that make Microsoft a Russian company? The fact that Saber bought its freedom from Embracer doesn't have anything to do with Russia and has everything to do with Embracers financial problems/internal Swedish politics.

And what are those political reasons?

And it would help if you where reading what I write, I did not say that Saber was a Russian company (my very first comment might have been a bit badly worded but I have written about this now in several comments to you), I did say that Saber was the owner of those Russian resources that where the problem for Embracer.

Layoffs have to do with it because Embracer was doing layoffs and cutbacks in some of it's subsidies, including Dark Crystal, at the time of the events that you describe happening to that game. And how on earth can you not see that there is a world of difference between cutting down + ceasing payments for a small subsidiary vs selling of assets worth $247M? Your argument here is that Embracer should just throw $247M in the trash to cease business in Russia instead of selling of the assets, you have yet to explain this part.

And btw, what are your problems with the Kyiv School of Economics? Is it just because they are from Ukraine? I think I might have started to get why you are so upset about my comments.

I am not privy to internal Swedish politics to tell you exactly. But its not the first time that something similar has been done in EU countries to justify various internal politics.

Sure, Saber may have had certain Russian assets but it does not justify cutting Saber free entirely. Could have just removed those assets instead. The fact that it was cut free as an entire company hints at other reasons than stated - likely financial problems

Speak to the devs directly - they say they had some layoffs (very minimal) but that the publisher intentionally withheld resources due to the dominant political push of that time rather than economic reasons. Cutbacks and layoffs does not mean intentionally withholding patches to scuttle a game. And nothing was stopping Embracer from officially ceasing support of the game and closing the studio and yet they resorted to underhand tactics and never officially closed down the studio (that i'm aware of) instead letting it die due to withholding payments from sales of its game. If the devs are to be believed they didn't even get their salaries paid at one point and were told it had to do with "collective punishment for Russia's actions in Ukraine" (their words not mine). If it was about "Russian assets" and "upholding sanctions" they wouldn't be selling to Russian companies, as that only benefits Russian companies and takes Russian money. If the policy is "no business with Russian companies" and if we claim Saber is Russian or even partially Russian then selling to them goes against the sanction regieme. You sell only if you have problems with money. "upholding Russian sanctions" is likely only a cover for investors or to justify internal Swedish politics

Because the Kiev School of Economics is not very good at economics (see the state of the Ukrainian economy) and its more of a political propaganda arm of Ukraine trying to use an "official" sounding name to hide it.


Last edited by Fremen on 19 March 2024 at 7:36 pm UTC
F.Ultra Mar 19
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Quoting: Alm888
Quoting: F.UltraSo let me get this straight, Embracer themselves and all media is lying for some unknown nefarious reason?
Like that is something new to them…

Lying? Yes, absolutely. "Nefarious"? Not at all! Just protecting Public Image by trying to mask their nearly catastrophic financial state. You know, Shareholders won't be pleased if PLAION's stock market value plummets.

Quoting: F.UltraAlso not entirely sure why you are conflating layoffs with finding buyers for valuable assets that you suddenly have to sell off? Remeber that Saber was a founding member of Embracer so this is not something that they really wanted to do.
They need cash. Embracer has purchased a lot of dead gamedev studios in order to make an impression of a really big company. They are broke. Most of the dead weight they've got can not be re-sold in a timely manner. These studios are the only ones Embracer could find a buyer for.

So Embracer being in need of cash decides to (instead of making a normal announcement about it like they have done the entire time during their restructuring) go in conspiracy with the entire media landscape of Sweden including the public broadcast company that did the discovery of their Russian properties and the fact that the CEO of Embracer leases out property to the Swedish defence industry?

I think that you should stop seeing conspiracies everywhere and just accept the fact that a company that brought a studio that have resources in Russia indeed have resources in Russia. I mean is is as simply as it can get and yet you believe that there is a huge conspiracy here involving hundreds of journalists...

edit: sorry about a very late edit, but there are some important details about Crystal vs the rest that has been missing this entire time and that really changes this.

The Dark Crystal Games case is also very different in that they came to Embracer via the aquision of EIDOS and was/is an entity that Embracer controls in full.

The russian assets that came in via Saber however is different, from the pressrelease when Embracer aquired Saber it is made clear that Saber was to remain as an independent entity inside Embracer with full autonomy. This means that Embracer could not get rid of those assets themselves, they had to ask Saber to do it, and for reasons that we don't know, Saber said no. So the only way forward for Embracer was to sell of Saber, there simply was no other possible way.


Last edited by F.Ultra on 20 March 2024 at 10:50 am UTC
F.Ultra Mar 19
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Quoting: FremenI am not privy to internal Swedish politics to tell you exactly.

So in other words you are just shitposting. Well that tells me everything I need to know and that will be the end of my engagement here since there are no reason to argue with bad faith trolls.
Fremen Mar 20
Quoting: F.Ultra
Quoting: FremenI am not privy to internal Swedish politics to tell you exactly.

So in other words you are just shitposting. Well that tells me everything I need to know and that will be the end of my engagement here since there are no reason to argue with bad faith trolls.

*facepalm* how did you come to that conclusion? You yourself said that the CEO of Embracer had dealings with the Swedish military.

Besides that doesn't address the fact that Embracer openly said they are withholding (stealing) Dark Crystal's money and intentionally scuttled the company as "collective punishment"?

So you are telling me that it is impossible to silence Swedish Press by threatening to "make life difficult" or pulling funding/licensing and that it's a conspiracy? That's ridiculous. Russia is just a useful scapegoat, you didn't address anything I wrote in my previous post - Embracer had no need to sell of Saber if it was about "Russian assets" when they could have jettisoned those assets as many other companies had done. It's about Embracer not having enough money, restrutcturing, as well as internal Swedish politics, etc.
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