Having recently announced that Embracer Group is spinning off its game development arm into a new company called Fellowship Entertainment, chair of the board Lars Wingefors has written an open letter that goes into more detail about the decision. While much of the letter focused on the business aspects of spinning off Fellowship Entertainment, Wingefors also revealed that there are plans to potentially license its older IPs to external studios.
These IPs include Saints Row, Legacy of Kain, Deus Ex, Red Faction, The Mask, Thief, and TimeSplitters, among others. This plan isn’t just limited to working with other game companies either. Wingefors has noted that Dark Horse will be operating as part of the new IP & Licensing business unit, thanks to its track record of having worked on TV and movie adaptations.
“In addition to expanding our largest transmedia IPs, The Lord of the Rings/Middle-earth and Tomb Raider, we see great potential to invest our own capital in and form new partnerships for our largest other AAA IPs, such as Kingdom Come: Deliverance, Dead Island, Darksiders, Remnant, and the licensed Metro series,” wrote Wingefors. “Apart from the largest IPs, we will more actively be exploring external partnerships around our roster of other well-known IPs such as Saints Row, Legacy of Kain, Deus Ex, Red Faction, The Mask, Thief, TimeSplitters, amongst many others. Dark Horse will operationally become part of the new IP & Licensing business unit with its long track record of co-producing film and TV shows with partners in Hollywood.”
Wingefors also noted that some of the IPs that will fall under Fellowship Entertainment have been quite undervalued by the industry. As such, a major reason behind the spin-off was to give the company the structure it requires to realize the full potential of those IPs. “I’m convinced that Fellowship Entertainment could reach industry-leading profitability and show healthy long-term organic growth above the industry average,” he wrote.
Whether this means we will be seeing a brand new entry in the long-dormant Deus Ex or Red Faction franchises, or even a new open-world Saints Row game, remains to be seen. However, the fact that Fellowship Entertainment is being given ownership over these IPs might be good news for fans of the classic games.
In the official announcement of forming the spin-off, Wingefors had said that the separation of the game development arm from the management arm would provide “sharper management focus and clearer accountability” for both companies to achieve what they need to.
“I am truly excited about Fellowship Entertainment’s prospects to organically grow substantially over the coming years. I am equally optimistic about the potential of the deep portfolio and selective M&A opportunities for a more focused Embracer. As Chair and major shareholder, I am strongly committed to support the preparations to drive value in two listed companies over the long-term,” he said.
The split between Embracer Group and Fellowship Entertainment is slated to take quite some time, and the company believes that the move will be completed before the end of calendar year 2027.
