Embracer Group is making significant moves to become the next big AAA gaming studio as it has announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montréal, Square Enix Montréal. This means that Embracer Group will own legendary video gaming IPs such as Tomb Raider, Legacy of Kain, Deux EX, and much more. The company has said in a statement published today on their official site that “The total purchase price amounts to USD 300 million on a cash and debt free basis, to be paid in full at closing. Embracer has secured additional long-term debt funding commitments for this and other transactions in the pipeline.”
”We are thrilled to welcome these studios into the Embracer Group. We recognize the fantastic IP, world class creative talent, and track record of excellence that have been demonstrated time and again over the past decades. It has been a great pleasure meeting the leadership teams and discussing future plans for how they can realize their ambitions and become a great part of Embracer.”
Lars Wingefors, Co-founder and Group CEO, Embracer Group.
”Embracer is the best kept secret in gaming: a massive, decentralized collection of entrepreneurs whom we are thrilled to become a part of today. It is the perfect fit for our ambitions: make high-quality games, with great people, sustainably, and grow our existing franchises to their best versions ever. Embracer allows us to forge new partnerships across all media to maximize our franchises’ potential and live our dreams of making extraordinary entertainment.”
Phil Rogers, Square Enix America and Europe CEO.
Well this is a surprise.
Guarantee this will end with them selling all of this to Microsoft.
Will Bravely Default III still start out as an exclusive to the Switch and later to PC like Bravely Default II? Will this be an issues with Bravely Default series being exclusive to Nintendo?
No, the western studios are all acquisitions made by Squeenix to diversify their catalogue. All the jrpg teams are in Japan.
This is huge news.
It will be very interesting to see what they will do with these IPs.
With Squeenix going stupid over the last few years, this will hopefully be a good thing. (I hope this company doesn’t have a “diverse ethics coughakacensorcough department.”)