Saber Interactive has parted ways with Embracer, resulting in the divestment of at least 38 ongoing game development projects and the transfer of over 3,000 staff members.
Rumors of a sale for Saber surfaced as early as last month, but both studios have now officially confirmed it. In a press release, Embracer stated its intention to “divest selected assets” from Saber for $247 million.
The buyer is Beacon Interactive, a company that was actually founded by Saber’s co-founder Matthew Karch.
Embracer’s press release indicates that Beacon has been granted an “option right” to acquire Metro developer 4A Games and Pinball FX studio Zen Studios at a “fixed price.”
However, according to Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, this wording is considered “misleading.” Saber is indeed acquiring 4A and Zen, but the purchase is structured through options. Essentially, Embracer’s statement employs financial terminology, and both 4A and Zen are transitioning alongside other Saber studios.
Nevertheless, Embracer clarifies that it retains the license for “all current and future PC/console games in the Metro franchise” through its subsidiary Plaion (formerly Koch Media), indicating that these rights do not belong to developer 4A Games.
Some Saber studios are being retained by Embracer, such as Aspyr, known for Tomb Raider and Star Wars: Battlefront remasters, Beamdog, creator of Planescape: Torment Enhanced Edition, and Tripwire, the studio behind Killing Floor.
According to Embracer, its “retained pipeline,” consisting of projects still in development after the deal, includes two collaborations with Saber Interactive.
These collaborations entail 4A Games’ upcoming AAA project, which is likely another entry to the Metro franchise and Killing Floor 3, a new AAA shooter based on a controlled intellectual property. Additionally, there’s an “unannounced concept phase AAA game” in the works.
Saber Interactive’s sale coincides with Embracer’s significant downsizing efforts, which involve layoffs at studios like Eidos Montreal and 3D Realms, amounting to approximately 8% of its total workforce.
Embracer’s efforts to streamline its operations include the closure of studios like TimeSplitters’ Free Radical Design and Saints Row’s Volition. Additionally, the Embracer Group had plans to offload Gearbox Software, reflecting a keen desire to downsize their operations. It appears that Embracer’s strategy of acquiring numerous development outfits at high costs to bolster their position in the video game industry has led to an unsustainable situation.
The majority of studios under Embracer’s ownership have delivered mediocre products at best and outright failures at worst. Their focus on quantity over quality, coupled with poor management practices, raises concerns about the future of Piranha Bytes, which is owned by the Embracer Group along with the Gothic franchise.
Despite the availability of the original creators’ skeleton crew for the Gothic Remake, Embracer opted to entrust the project to a newly established Spanish studio called Alkimia Interactive. This decision is likely to result in yet another disappointing outcome.
Embracer embarked on an ambitious spending spree, aiming to clinch a lucrative $2 billion deal with the Saudi Arabian government-funded Savvy Games Group. However, this deal reportedly fell through, exacerbated by the failures of Volition’s woke Saints Row reboot, which was developed in collaboration with Sweet Baby Inc.
Additionally, Gearbox’s underperforming titles, such as Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands and Tales from the New Borderlands, contributed to the deal’s demise.
Lars Wingefors, co-founder and group CEO of Embracer, described the split with Saber Interactive as a “win-win solution” benefiting both Embracer and the segments of Saber now departing the company. Wingefors emphasized that the deal is safeguarding many developer jobs under the new ownership. Importantly, Wingefors referred to the Saber deal as the “first transaction,” hinting at the possibility of other studios exiting Embracer in the future.
