You might remember that Embracer Group made headlines a few months ago when it bought several development studios and intellectual property (IP) that used to belong to Square Enix. Well, it looks like they weren’t done because they’ve bought a lot of new things.
Embracer Group is on the hunt?
Embracer Group has said that they will buy Limited Run Games, Singtrix, Tuxedo Labs, Tripwire Interactive, Tatsujin (which is notable because foreign studios don’t usually buy Japanese companies), Bitwave Games, Gioteck, and another PC/console gaming company that hasn’t been named yet. They are also buying Middle-earth Enterprises, a company that owns most of the rights to the Lord of the Rings universe when it comes to movies, video games, board games, merchandise, theme parks, and stage productions.
Embracer Freemode, a new operating group set up to help support, invest in, and grow some of these small to mid-sized companies, is in charge of all of these acquisitions. Embracer Group thinks that all of these purchases will cost around SEK 8.2 billion, which is about USD $790 million.
Embracer Group has put out several full PR statements that explain why they are buying these companies and give more information about them. You can read them here. Most of the time, it seems to be about diversifying their portfolio and getting access to new resources, like Limited Run Games’ publishing and Carbon Engine (a game engine that specializes in emulating older games for modern hardware), Singtrix’s vocal processing effects technology, Gioteck’s gaming accessories, or the sheer weight of the Lord of the Rings IP, which includes the upcoming Amazon series.
At this point, it’s hard to say exactly what the effects of these acquisitions will be, but they will have an effect on the industry, especially if Embracer buys more companies in the coming months.
