A press release published on Tuesday confirmed the official closing of Embracer Group’s recent deal. Embracer Group made the terms and details of the deal public back in February. Along with Gearbox Entertainment, Embracer Group also closed their acquisitions of two other video game development studios, Aspyr and Easybrain.
Embraced Group Acquires Yet Another High-Profile Studio
— Embracer Group (@embracergroup) February 3, 2021 Now that the deal has finally closed, Gearbox Entertainment will join a long list of high-profile video game development studios that the Swedish company has acquired in recent years. Formerly known as Nordic Games Publishing AB, Embracer Group also owns THQ Nordic. In addition to this, Embracer Group also recently acquired Coffee Stain Studios, makers of hit survival title, Valheim. Embracer Group owns Deep Silver as well. The Koch Media division is best known for their GTA-like series of titles, Saints Row. But while acquiring Gearbox Entertainment isn’t the Embracer Group’s first rodeo, or so to speak, it is their biggest yet. The deal, reportedly worth $1.3 billion, is also one of the largest video game acquisitions in 2021. With that said, the acquisition marks a new chapter for the Texas-based studio. Currently, Gearbox Entertainment employs more than 500 individuals across its three offices in Quebec, Texas, and Frisco. Although most people know them for their work on the Borderlands franchise, Gearbox Entertainment has worked on other marquee titles in the past. Speaking of marquee titles, not all that Gearbox Entertainment has touched before has turned into gold. The studio either developed or published colossal failures as well. Chief among them include titles like Aliens: Colonial Marines, Duke Nukem Forever, and Battleborn. Their most recent game, the PS5 launch game, Godfall, also drew mixed reactions. Gearbox Entertainment is currently expected to release the Borderlands 3: Director’s Cut on April 8. After that, Gearbox Entertainment has yet to announce what they’re going to work on next. However, now that it’s become Embracer Group’s seventh holding label, it’s safe to say that a new title or IP announcement is imminent if not expected.
Gaming Industry Seeing Multiple Huge Consolidations in 2021
As previously mentioned, Embracer Group’s acquisition of Gearbox Entertainment is one of the largest consolidations in the gaming industry this 2021 alone. However, it’s far from the only one. Back in March, Microsoft also acquired all of ZeniMax Media for $7.5 billion. Another notable high-profile acquisition earlier this year is ByteDance’s foray into the gaming industry. The owners of the social media app, TikTok, had reportedly acquired Mobile Legends developers, Moonton, for a hefty sum of $4 billion. Electronic Arts now also owns the makers of the Dirt racing video game series, Codemasters, after buying the studio for $1.2 billion.
