In recent years, the Embracer conglomerate has been acquiring numerous game studios, but rather than for developing new titles, it seems they’ve been purchasing them for subsequent resale. Recently, the corporation successfully divested Gearbox studio, which was acquired by Take-Two, the publisher behind GTA.
The deal amounted to $460 million, with Take-Two acquiring solely the Gearbox development studio along with licenses for titles like Borderlands, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, Homeworld, Risk of Rain, Brothers in Arms, and Duke Nukem. Meanwhile, Gearbox Publishing and the rights to Remnant and Hyper Light Breaker remain with Embracer.
Interestingly, Embracer originally bought Gearbox in 2021 for $1.3 billion but only paid $363 million upfront, with the remainder contingent upon achieving various performance metrics. This might not be Embracer’s final asset sale, as following the collapse of a deal with a Saudi prince to acquire the entire conglomerate, the corporation seems to be struggling to find a purpose for all the studios it has acquired.