Eidos Shanghai turned into Gearbox studio as Borderlands developer expands

gamedeveloper.com:

Eidos Shanghai has been rebranded as Gearbox Studio Shanghai by parent company Embracer Group with a view to helping the Borderlands developer expand into Asia.

The news comes after Embracer purchased Eidos Montreal from Square Enix in May, with that deal encompassing Eidos teams across Montréal, Sherbrooke, and Shanghai.

Gigi Ning, who previously led Eidos Shanghai, will continue to lead the studio as general manager but will now report to Gearbox Publishing in San Francisco.

The newly rebranded studio has worked on numerous triple-A franchises since it was established in 2008, including Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy and Shadow of the Tomb Raider.

According to Gearbox, that experience means the studio will be in a "strong position to provide immediate and meaningful support to multiple titles across the Gearbox portfolio."

"China is a hotbed of industry talent, and I’m confident Gearbox Studio Shanghai will be instrumental in our vision for international growth here at Gearbox," said Yoon Im, president of Gearbox Publishing San Francisco. "With this addition, we greatly enhance our ability to engage with players in the Chinese market and work directly with local up-and-coming development studios."

Gearbox has been steadily expanding since being acquired by Embracer in 2021 for $1.38 billion, and earlier this year was bolstered with the opening of Gearbox Publishing – which you might recognize as rebranded publisher Perfect World – and the recent acquisition of Lost Boys Interactive.