Thief, Deus Ex, Tomb Raider, Legacy of Kain… So many legendary licenses previously held by Square-Enix which will soon change ownership. This is the group Embrace which, in its logic of expansion, bought three of the studios of the Japanese holding company.
Who is behind Embracer and what does this buyout entail for the titles in question? The buyer responds to us.
Embracer Group AB, who are these shadow giants?
Do you know the group THQ Nordic ? At the origin of well-known games in the early 2000s like TitanQuest Where Spell Force 2, this studio was originally a company selling used games by the name of Nordic Games. Founded by Swedish entrepreneur Lars Wingefors when he was only 16 years old, this company gradually grew until its founder was able to buy the bankrupt publisher THQ in 2014, thus forming the famous THQ Nordic as we know it today. today.
This expansion logic, the founder of the company has kept it until today. Year after year, the holding company acquired here and there studios, most of which were not in top form from a financial or communication point of view. Thus, in September 2019, Lars Wingefors announced that he wanted to formalize the status and philosophy of the company by renaming it “Embrace Group“.
In recent years, Embracer has, among other things, acquired Saber Interactive, Gearbox Software and even Asmodeus, the French board game giant. Today, licenses Saints Row, Darksiders and Borderlands are therefore under their aegis. With the acquisition of the big sagas of Square Enix, they reinforce their position in a spectacular way.
Far from simply buying up brands, they are taking over all the assets of the studios thus acquired, preserving intellectual property, premises and jobs. It is for this reason that Phil Rogers speaks of a “secret”: from the point of view of the public, the transaction is transparent. On the takeover of Square Enix studios, these are therefore approximately 1100 employees and eight international premises whom Embracer places under his control.
The beginning of the end or towards a revival of redeemed games?
So far, licenses picked up by Embracer are doing well. Their philosophy is precisely to Maximize AAA franchises from different studios.
No sooner had the announcement been made official than David Anfossihead of the Eidos-Montreal studio, announced that their first project following the takeover would be a new Deus Ex. He reportedly said: “A new team, a very complex production, a new technology and a new studio, an easy challenge” (source). Fans of the franchise can therefore rejoice, the idea has been launched!
Moreover, given the ambitions of Embracer and given that Anfossi speaks of “new technology”, one would like to imagine that the game will be driven by the famous Unreal Engine 5. Be careful though, even if it was the manager of Eidos-Montréal who spoke about this project, no official announcement has been madelet’s not immediately draw plans on the comet.
Whatever, the Deus Ex title comes up frequently in communications Embracer and Square Enix regarding resale, so we can deduce that this is one of the licenses that should benefit the most from this agreement. Can’t wait for the next game!
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