The Embracer Group has announced an agreement with Square Enix Holdings to purchase Crystal Dynamics, Eidos Montreal and Square Enix Montreal. Along with IPs like Deus Ex, Tomb Raider, Legacy of Kain and Thief, it will also acquire “more than 50 back-catalogue games” for $300 million. The acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter of the 2022/2023 financial year for Embracer.
Lars Wingefors, co-founder and group CEO of the Embracer Group, stated, ”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.”
Phil Rogers, Square Enix America and Europe CEO, said, ”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.”
The three studios comprise about 1100 employees across eight locations worldwide. These acquisitions are only the latest in Embracer’s spree – it’s acquired the likes of Aspyr Media (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic – Remake), 4A Games (Metro Exodus), Ghost Ship Games (Deep Rock Galactic), Perfect World Entertainment (Neverwinter), Dark Horse Media and much more. It recently completed its merger with Gearbox Entertainment.
It’s unclear what this could mean for future projects like Tomb Raider (with the next game using Unreal Engine 5) or ongoing games-as-a-service titles like Marvel’s Avengers. Then again, it does mean some potentially new projects for franchises like Legacy of Kain and Deus Ex, which have been dormant for years now. The Embracer Group had previously announced plans to release over 25 triple-A titles by April 2026, so stay tuned for more details.
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