Embracer Groups’ Recent Acquisition Dubbed the “Steal of the Century”

Embracer Groups’ Recent Acquisition Dubbed the “Steal of the Century”

James Wright

Embracer Group’s recent purchase of various Square Enix studios has sent ripples throughout the industry.

The purchase – ~$300 million – will add dozens of new IPs to Embracer’s portfolio.

Of course, it’s a big gain for Embracer, who now owns Square Enix Montréal, Crystal Dynamics, and Eidos Montréal.

In fact, it’s so big that Saber Interactive CEO Matthew Karch stated [during Embracer’s quarterly presentation] that it was “the steal of the century”;

“I’m super excited about what I consider to be the steal of the century with our recent deal to acquire Crystal Dynamics, Eidos Montréal, and Square Enix Montréal.

I really believe we just acquired one of the best IPs in the history of games. I don’t think it’s debatable. We acquired great teams in the process that I’ve had an opportunity to meet with already to get to know on a basic level, obviously, prior to the closing. But it’s been good to get to know them. I’m super, super excited about what we can do with them in the future.

Embracer Group now has access to top-tier IPs such as Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Thief, and long-lost IPs too, such as Legacy of Kain.

During the same conference call, Embracer noted how it has big plans for its new toys;

“The announcement [of the acquisition] got an overwhelming and positive response. We see great potential, not only in sequels but also in remakes, remasters, spinoffs as well as transmedia projects across the Group. We expect the transaction to close in the July-September period”.

Various Square Enix properties already had cross-media spin-offs, of course. Most notably, the various Tomb Raider and Hitman movies, mobile games, and the Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Icarus Effect graphic novels.

News