The Swedish group has announced the purchase of several Square Enix studios, with more than 50 games.
Another bombshell to start a month. The video game industry does not let up in May and, after the striking purchases we have had at the beginning of the year, Embracer Group has announced an acquisition involving several studios, including those responsible for the Tomb Raider or Deus Ex saga.
The price is 300 million dollarsThrough a statement shared to press and public on its official website, the Swedish giant has announced that it is acquiring three Square Enix studios: Crystal Dynamics, Eidos Montreal and Square Enix Montreal.as well as a fairly extensive catalog of video game brands. There are more than 1,100 employees if we count the three studios and the eight locations over which they are spread, and the price has been set at some 300 million dollarswith the commitment to finance the long-term debt.
With this transaction, Embracer takes over the domain of. more than 50 intellectual properties. The ones with the most names are those already mentioned: Tomb Raider y Deus Exalthough the company also has control of games such as Thief or Legacy of Kain. In any case, we must wait for the transaction to become effective in the coming months, being able to complete the purchase between July and September 2022.
Three studios for Embracer Group
Founded in 1992, Crystal Dynamics is the studio with the biggest name of the three involved in this operation. With nearly 300 employees in San Mateo, Bellevue and Austin (USA), the team is known for making adventure games with a strong narrative component. With 30 years of historyare now working on the next game of the Tomb Raider saga for the new generation.
They are three western Square Enix studios.For their part, Eidos Montréal is larger: 500 employees spread between Montréal and Sherboorke (Canada), as well as Shanghai (China). It was founded in 2007 and, in recent years, it has been involved in several triple A projectsincluding the third installment of the new Tomb Raider saga. They are known worldwide for their work with Deus Ex or Thief.
In last place, the development studio with the least history is. Square Enix Montréaland also the smallest. It has 150 employees in Montreal (Canada), although they also have a team in London (UK). It has more experience in games for mobile devicesalthough based on traditional PC and console experiences such as Hitman, Tomb Raider or Deus Ex.
What does Square Enix lose?
As mentioned above, while there are more than 50 brands that are no longer part of Square Enix as such, the most important sagas that will become part of the Embracer Group’s control are. Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Thief or Legacy of Kain.. Licenses such as Just Cause or Life is Strange are developed by other external studios, and Square will also maintain control over its Japanese brands.
Games such as Marvel’s Avengers, developed by Crystal Dynamics, or Guardians of the Galaxy, which has come from Eidos Montreal, remain part of Square Enix as part of a partnership with Marvelalthough on a purely commercial level they have sold less than expected.
