Embracer Group has signed an agreement to acquire Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montréal, Square Enix Montréal and an “IP catalog that includes Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Thief, Legacy of Kain and more than 50 games from Square Enix Holdings catalog. by 300 million dollars.
Embracer shared the news in a press release, saying this acquisition includes approximately 1,100 employees across three studios and eight global locations. The deal, if finalized, is expected to close during the second quarter of Embracer’s fiscal year 2022/2023.
“We are delighted to welcome these studios to the Embracer Group. We recognize the fantastic intellectual property, the world-class creative talent, and the track record of excellence that has been proven time and time again over the past decades. It has been a great pleasure meeting the leadership teams and discussing future plans on how they can realize their ambitions and become a great part of Embracer,” says Lars Wingefors, Co-Founder and Group CEO of the Embracer Group.
”Embracer is the best kept secret in gaming: a massive, decentralized collection of entrepreneurs that we are thrilled to be a part of today. It’s the perfect complement to our ambitions: to make high-quality games, with great people, in a sustainable way, and to grow our existing franchises to their best versions. Embracer allows us to forge new partnerships across all mediums to maximize the potential of our franchises and live out our dreams of creating extraordinary entertainment,” said Phil Rogers, CEO of Square Enix Americas and Europe.
Once this deal is finalized, Embracer will have more than 14,000 employees, 10,000 game developers and 124 in-house studios. He also confirmed that he has more than 230 games in development at those studios, and more than 30 of them are AAA titles.
This news comes shortly after Crystal Dynamics announced it was developing a new Tomb Raider game in Unreal Engine 5. No further details were given, but the team said it planned to “push the boundaries of fidelity.”
Crystal Dynamics is also the studio behind Marvel’s Avengers and has been helping Microsoft’s The Initiative develop the new Perfect Dark game.
Eidos Montréal is the studio behind Thief 4, Deus Ex Human Revolution, Shadow of the Tomb Raider and more, and is “working on a number of AAA projects including new releases from beloved franchises and original IP.”
Square Enix Montréal is responsible for games like Hitman GO, Tomb Raider GO, and Deus Ex GO, and will continue to work on AAA IP-based mobile space building games.
Embracer is no stranger to acquisitions, having seen rapid expansion in recent years. Some of the other companies he has acquired or owns include Dark Horse Comics, 3D Realms, Ghost Ship Games, Gearbox, THQ Nordic, Saber Interactive, Koch Media, and many more.
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Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and in Twitch.