Embracer was not the one group to rule them all after $2 billion deal falls through
By Jon Porter, a reporter with five years of experience covering consumer tech releases, EU tech policy, online platforms, and mechanical keyboards.
Embracer Group’s run of acquisitions may have finally come to an end. This week the Swedish video game and media holding company, which has made countless headlines buying up everything from the IP rights to Lord of the Rings to the studios behind Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, and Borderlands, announced it would be “restructuring” in an attempt to make itself “a leaner, stronger and a more focused, self-sufficient company.”
An open letter from group CEO Lars Wingefors says this restructuring will include shutting down or selling off studios, halting or pausing development on games, and cutbacks to spending more generally. Wingefors also wants the company to focus more on its internal IP and bring in more external funding for big-budget games.
“The program… will transform us from our current heavy-investment-mode to a highly cash-flow generative business”
In recent years, Embracer has been on a dizzying acquisition spree that’s seen its size balloon to include 138 internal game development studios as part of a company footprint spread across 40 countries. In addition to the companies mentioned above, Embracer has also scooped up World War Z developer Saber Interactive, the USA’s third-largest comics publisher Dark Horse Comics, and board game publisher Asmodee. Axios cites one report that says Embracer spent $1 billion across 20 acquisitions last year.
“The program presented today will transform us from our current heavy-investment-mode to a highly cash-flow generative business this year,” Wingefors writes. The implication? The era of big spending is coming to an end; it’s time to
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