With Eidos Montreal and Crystal Dynamics (along with Square Enix Montreal) being acquired by the Embracer Group, the future of their Marvel titles is in question. Could we see a sequel to Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy? Will Marvel’s Avengers continue to operate?
In the Embracer Group’s recent presentation, the question was posed to co-founder and group CEO Lars Wingefors. He first confirmed, “All games that have been developed by the studios are included in the transaction. However, a number of external approvals are needed from external parties in order to close this transaction. And potentially licensors, as you’ve mentioned here, could be one of those approvals needed.” In other words, Disney’s approval could be necessary for either game’s future.
When asked if the base case is that they’re approved and part of the deal, and if games could be developed on the IPs ahead, Wingefors said, “I don’t expect any notable commercial agreement relating to these studios or the transaction to be declined by either regulatory partners or business partners. However, that remains to be seen. Obviously, I think your question was relating to the two existing games and whether they will be operated and built upon….” He then noted that there’s “no change from the existing plans today.” So for now, we’ll have to wait and see.
Square Enix cited plans to invest in blockchain, the cloud and AI along with better aligning its Tokyo organization with overseas publishing as some of the reasons for the sale. However, industry analyst David Gibson reported that both games allegedly resulted in $200 million in losses for the publisher. It remains to be seen then if – and in what capacity – the Embracer Group will continue to support them, even with Disney’s approval.
