Square Enix Sells Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montréal, And More, Including Tomb Raider IP, To Embracer Group

gameinformer.com:

Embracer Group has entered into an agreement to acquire Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montréal, and Square Enix Montréal from Square Enix alongside a catalog of intellectual properties that includes Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Thief, and more than 50 others too. 

Embracer Group is paying $300 million for these studios and associated IPs and it's doing it on a “cash and debt-free basis, to be paid in full at closing,” according to the company. In total, this acquisition will result in roughly 1100 employees from these three studios, across eight locations around the world, becoming Embracer Group employees. This purchase is expected to close during the second year of Embracer’s 2022-23 financial year, or in other words, sometime between July and September of this year. 

“We are thrilled to welcome these studios into the Embracer Group,” Embracer Group co-founder and group CEO Lars Wingefors writes in a release. “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 with leadership teams and discussing future plans for how they can realize their ambitions and become a great part of Embracer.” 

Square Enix America and Europe CEO Phil Rogers writes in the release that Embracer is the best-kept secret in gaming in that it’s a “massive, decentralized collection of entrepreneurs whom we are thrilled to become a part of today.” He calls Embracer Group the perfect fit for Square Enix America and Europe’s ambitions, which is to “make high-quality games, with great people, sustainably, and grow our existing franchises to their best versions.” 

Since Embracer is acquiring not just Crystal Dynamics, but the