The sale of the development part of Gearbox was the last phase of the restructuring Embracer Group. The Swedish video game and media holding company has ended a long process that included layoffs, studio cancellations and asset divestitures.
It all took nine months. Restructuring carried away 1300 people (by 8% of the workforce), was almost abolished 30 games and studies ceased to exist Volition (Saints Row) and Free Radical Design (Timesplitters). Other employees can rest easy, at least for now.
Gearbox was sold this week to Take-Two Interactive for $460 million. The rights to Borderlands, Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, Homeworld, Risk of Rain, Brothers in Arms and Duke Nukem went under the ownership of Grand Theft Auto. Previously, Saber Interactive split from Embracer with Fractured Byte, Mad Head Games, Slipgate, New World Interactive, DIGIC, Nimble Giant and Sandbox Strategies.
The day after the acquisition, Gearbox began laying off workers. Several people wrote on social media that they had to leave the studio. Former PR manager she wrote about countless people. Currently, we do not know exactly how many there are and which departments they concern.
Lars Wingefors, CEO of Embracer Group, confirmed to investors that there will be no further sales, nor will the studios be cancelled. Currently, the company has no plans to buy. Instead, he wants to focus on developing better games. The company includes THQ Nordic, Deep Silver, Prague's Warhorse Studios (Kingdom Come) or 4A Games. However, the creator of Metro may buy Saber in the future.
Embracer Group's financial troubles began in 2023 after a $2 billion deal collapsed. She should have invested in the company Savvy Games Group, which is owned by the Saudi government. Since then, extensive restructuring has been underway. The goal was to reduce debt and make Embracer a viable company.