Say thatEmbracer Group currently has a bad image among players is a mild understatement, since after a buying spree over several years and external investments which ultimately did not take place, the ogre carried out various layoffs, closed Free Radical Design And Volitionand even canceled a game Deus Ex… Rumor circulated that he intended to separate from Saber Interactive by selling it to a group of investors. Well, it was partly proven, but it is not an entity really foreign to the publisher that is concerned nor the entire operational group, since it was his co-founder Matthew Karch who put $247 million on the table so that his company Beacon Interactive buy back part of it. As indicated in the Press release ofEmbrace, this sale is carried out with the justification of stopping all its operations in Russia via the sale of its various related assets… The group is Swedish and Sweden joined theNATO on March 7, this is undoubtedly not insignificant. Saber Interactive is a North American publisher and developer, even if a subsidiary had been opened in Russia, so there is very little connection between the actions and the reason given, as you will see even more below.
Beacon Interactive will therefore recover all the studios stamped Saber Interactive (either Saber Armenia, Belarus, Port, Russia, Spain And Sweden), DIGIC Pictures of which you have necessarily already seen cutscenes CGI, Fractured Bytes, Mad Head Games (Scars Above), New World Interactive (Insurgency: Sandstorm), Nimble Giant Entertainment (Star Trek: Infinite), Sandbox Strategies (press relations agency), Slipgate Ironworks (Graven, Tempest Rising, Core Decay) And 3D Realms. The licenses held by these studios are also part of the transaction. Yes, Russia’s excuse is valid since the majority of these subsidiaries have absolutely no connection with the country. Worse still, we can read the following:
All Russian employees were transferred to new entities fully owned by local management and working exclusively with the buyer. Embracer will initiate a liquidation process to dissolve all Russian companies in accordance with Russian law.
If no longer wanting to indirectly support the economy of a country that has started a war is one thing (it never bothered when it came to the United States), this form of xenophobia towards simple employees is not clearly not in good taste.
Embrace however, retains under its control 34BigThings (Redout II), Aspyr (Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection), Beamdog, Demiurge Studios, Shiver Entertainment (the Switch version of Mortal Kombat 1…), Snapshot Games, Tripwire Interactive (Killing Floor 3), Tuxedo Labs, Zen Studios And 4A Games. Moreover, the associated countries are indicated for them, but not for those sold… These companies will be integrated into other parts ofEmbrace.
But that’s not all, because Beacon Interactive has the possibility of acquiring Zen Studios (Games Pinball FX) And 4A Games (License Metro) at a fixed price for an unspecified period of time. On the other hand, if this were to happen, Embrace via PLAION would retain full licensing and publishing rights to the games Metro already published and those to come…
Moreover, 14 ongoing projects also remain under the umbrella ofEmbraceincluding two developed in partnership with the buyer. In detail, this gives the next AAA of 4A Games who is next Metroa game AAA in the design phase, another already announced based on a known license, a AAA shooter multiplayer taken from an intellectual property belonging to it, a title AA of a licenseAsmodeethe next game AA of 34BigThings, Killer Floor 3the additional content of Teardownas well as all the upcoming projects of the back catalog of Zen Studios, Aspyr And Tripwire Interactive. Yes, that’s a lot.
To conclude, here is a translation of the statements of the two representatives ofEmbrace And Beacon Interactive.
“I am happy that we have found a win-win solution for Embracer and the parts of Saber that will now leave us. This transaction places both companies in a stronger position to thrive in the future. Embracer is now able to halt all its operations in Russiain accordance with a previous decision of the board of directors, while preserving many developer jobs under new independent ownership. At the same time, we retain key businesses, valuable intellectual properties and future publishing rights. Cash flow improves immediately and we remain committed to reducing net debt. The transaction creates additional headroom to service debt in line with existing banking arrangements and will improve financial flexibility. This is the first transaction of the previously mentioned structured processes and marks a small, but important step in our journey to transform Embracer into a future for the benefit of all employees, players and shareholders,” says Lars Wingefors, co-founder and CEO of Embracer Group.
“Over the past four years, I have been proud to be a part of Embracer’s incredible transformation into one of the world’s leading video game companies. As part of the company’s reorganization efforts in the face of an evolving sector and geopolitical challenges, we jointly felt that it was the right decision for Embracer and the Saber core to part ways. This divestment leaves both parties in much better positions to grow our respective businesses. I will continue to remain a significant long-term shareholder of Embracer and we will remain partners on several current and future projects. This transaction also protects the livelihoods of hundreds of professionals, many of whom I have worked with for over two decades,” said Matthew Karch, co-founder of Saber Interactive and director of Beacon Interactive.
Above all, let’s hope that all this at least avoids further layoffs.
Update : according to Jason Schreiersupporting document, Matthew Karch would indeed intend to buy 4A Games And Zen Studios via options, which would ultimately correspond to the amount of 500 million dollars mentioned in rumor. There would therefore be a total of nearly 3,000 employees around the world who would be grouped under the banner of Beacon Interactive.
Today, through a company we created called Beacon Interactive, we have agreed to purchase the rights to Saber (and all of its global studios and exclusive contract relationships), Mad Head, DIGIC, Nimble Giant, Fractured Byte, Slipgate, 3D Realms, New World Interactive, SPL, Stuntworks, Bytex, 4A and Zen (via options), totaling more than 3000 developers around the world. We specifically chose these studios for acquisition because we believe they represent the best of what Saber is and can be. This group includes some of the most talented and creative developers in the world. Our experience and, more importantly, the projects we have in development speak volumes about our capabilities. I truly believe that we have the best collection of game developers in the industry today thanks to all of you.
You can find Metro Exodus Gold Edition at the house of Gamesplanet priced at €19.99.
| Alexandre SAMSON (Omega Law) Responsible Proofreader – Editor | ||
| Addicted to Assassin’s Creed and Destiny, big fan of RPGs and passionate about video game experiences in general. Reader of comics (DC) and various mangas (One Piece!). Chemist by training and Whovian at heart. | ||
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