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The Embracer Group has joined the 2022 party of acquisitions, following in Xbox and PlayStation's steps. It was expected that the European gaming and entertainment giant would expand quite soon.
The speculations came true on May 2, when the official information was published. They have acquired the development studios Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montreal, Square Enix Montreal, and a catalog of IPs.
This follows the plethora of deals that have been a point of interest in 2022. Xbox began the year with a bang by announcing its potential takeover of Activision Blizzard, which now awaits approval from regulatory authorities.
This was soon followed by PlayStation acquiring Destiny maker Bungie. Embracer Group's acquisition might seem smaller, but it makes lots of sense and has tremendous value when looked at deeply.
Embracer Group acquires Western Studios from Square Enix
The saga of Western Studios and Square Enix hasn't been great in recent times. The positives from the earlier era have been lost, as the more recent releases haven't exactly gone as planned.
Embracer Group's acquisitions have given a new lease of life to Square Enix and the studios involved.
Square Enix Holdings Pvt. Ltd. will receive close to $300 million in a debt-free manner upon closure of the deal. It is targeted for closure around September 2022, pending approval from regulatory authorities.
Embracer Group has also laid out their plans for what they want to do with the studios they acquired. As part of the acquisition, they have received some very well-known IPs in the gaming world.
Franchises like Deus Ex and Tomb Raider are pretty famous, with the latter having a new game in the development.
Lars Wingefors, co-founder and group CEO, said:
"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 demonstrated time and again over the past decades. It has been a great pleasure meeting the leadership teams and discussing plans for how they can realize their ambitions and become a great part of Embracer."
Once the deal is closed, Embracer Group will acquire studios with more than 1100 workforce, IPs, and a back-catalog of over 50 games. Based on the press briefing, it's evident that they will focus on AAA single-player games.
The company added:
"Embracer believes there will be an increasingly strong demand for high-quality content, including AAA single-player titles, over the next decade. We aim to continue working with leading platforms and license holders and to form deeper strategic relationships with a handful of leading companies in the industry. Furthermore, synergies across Embracer's ecosystem benefit our people and companies. Our approach is that quality comes first in games development, which is why we believe our decentralized operating model of empowering management teams while facilitating synergies positions Embracer for sustainable long-term success."
It will be interesting to see when the acquisition gets completed and what the future holds for Embracer and the studios in discussion.
