The Embracer Group announced today the acquisition of Gearbox Software, the developer of Borderlands. The studio will become the seventh operating group of the Embracer Group.
The $1.3 billion gives the Swedish corporation a 550-person studio, with North American publishing capabilities and a robust IP portfolio, including Borderlands, Brothers in Arms, and Homeworld.
In a statement, Lars Wingefors, Founder and CEO of Embracer Group, said:
Gearbox is arguably one of the most creative and valuable independent developers in the world. We believe that the resources offered by Embracer will position Gearbox for continued significant growth in the years to come.
Randy Pitchford, the founder of The Gearbox Entertainment Company, added:
Lars’s vision of Embracer as an allied partner group committed to fueling and accelerating the ambitions of a series of decentralized, successful entrepreneurial member companies while magnifying the collective value and advantages of diversification across the entire group is the most brilliant strategy and design for short, medium, and long-term success in this industry that I have worked in during 30 years. The feeling at Gearbox is that we are just getting started and this transaction is not merely a stimulant for the talent of our employee-owned company, but a propellent for the exciting future we have planned.
Today, the Embracer Group’s ambitions of becoming one of the largest corporations in the videogames industry were affirmed with the announcement of a $100 million acquisition of Aspyr Media and a $640m deal with Easybrain.
Aspyr Media, a game development studio based in Austin, Texas, was acquired by Saber Interactive, a subsidiary of Embracer Group. The team of 140 developers will continue to work under the direction of its founders, Michael Rogers and Ted Staloch. The studio who is known for a solid partnership with 2K Games and Lucas Film Games generated $40.6 million in revenue in 2020. The team is working with a $70 million budget for an upcoming game.
The expensive merging with Easybrain will see the mobile publisher becoming the third-largest shareholder of the Embracer Group. The Cyprus-based publisher reported revenues of $200 million in 2020 thanks to its mobile logic and puzzle games. According to Lars Wingefors Easybrain will accelerate Embracer’s mobile and free-to-play business.
Source: Embracer – Aspyr Media
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