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Troubled gaming conglomerate Embracer introduced Thursday that it has agreed to promote Gearbox Leisure, the studio behind the Borderlands video games, to Grand Theft Auto writer Take-Two for $460 million.
The deal makes plenty of sense; Take-Two has been the writer for Borderlands via its 2K Video games label since lengthy earlier than Gearbox was acquired by Embracer in 2021. In its press release, 2K mentioned the subsequent Borderlands sport was in energetic growth at Gearbox.
As a part of the deal, Take-Two acquires the Borderlands franchise and its spinoff sequence Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, in addition to the Homeworld, Threat of Rain, Brothers in Arms, and Duke Nukem sequence. The studios acquired by Take-Two are the Gearbox Software program mothership in Frisco, Texas, in addition to Gearbox Montréal and Gearbox Studio Quebec.
“As a big long-term Embracer Group shareholder, I consider within the technique for the Embracer Group going ahead and am utterly satisfied that this transaction is the very best state of affairs and an apparent web constructive association for Embracer Group, for Take-Two and, in fact, for Gearbox Leisure,” mentioned Gearbox founder Randy Pitchford. “My main curiosity is all the time Gearbox, together with our expertise and our clients. I need to personally guarantee followers of our video games that this association will make sure that the experiences now we have in growth at Gearbox would be the greatest it could actually presumably be.”
Embracer is hanging on to a couple elements of the Gearbox empire: Gearbox Publishing San Francisco (which nicely be renamed), together with the publishing rights to the Remnant video games and Hyper Gentle Breaker; Cryptic Studios, the massively multiplayer specialist, with its video games Neverwinter On-line and Star Trek On-line; and help studios Misplaced Boys Interactive and Captured Dimensions.
Although Gearbox Publishing San Francisco continues to be beneath Embracer, the corporate confirmed to Polygon that it has laid off an unspecified variety of staff “not tied to the event” of Gearbox video games. The layoffs seem to affect advertising, communications, and different parts of the corporate.
“The Embracer Group will proceed to report on their restructuring program that impacted some elements of Gearbox in the present day that aren’t tied to the event of Gearbox Software program video games,” a spokesperson instructed Polygon. “Thanks for granting us the area to stay centered on our individuals and in our dealing with of the state of affairs with compassion and handle the method, balancing between our current obligation and a dedication to our future.”
For Embracer, the sale of Gearbox — one in all its most prized property — is the subsequent step in a deep cost-cutting and restructuring course of the corporate began last year after a reported $2 billion deal fell via. As a part of its restructuring, Embracer laid off at least 900 people. Previous to its monetary difficulties, the Swedish group, which started life as Nordic Video games, had been on a wild acquisition spree that included the acquisition of board game giant Asmodee, Sq. Enix’s Western studios and franchises including Tomb Raider, and the media rights for The Lord of the Rings.
Embracer additionally introduced Thursday that it had accomplished the sale of one other of its greatest studio teams, Saber Interactive, which it acquired in 2020. Saber’s founder Matthew Karch purchased again the primary Saber Interactive studio and a number of other subsidiaries for $247 million, whereas Embracer retained Metro developer 4A Video games, Aspyr, and others. Saber has the best to amass 4A and pinball specialist Zen Studios inside a sure time interval, though publishing rights for the Metro video games will stick with Embracer’s subsidiary Plaion. Saber is reportedly nonetheless collaborating with Embracer on the troubled remake of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.
Replace: This story has been up to date to incorporate information regarding layoffs at Gearbox Publishing, together with an announcement from the corporate.
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