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Square Enix sell Tomb Raider, Deus Ex and several studios to Embracer GroupThe $300 million deal includes Crystal Dynamics and Eidos-Montréal
The $300 million deal includes Crystal Dynamics and Eidos-Montréal
Square Enix are to sell most of their Western studios and intellectual property such asTomb Raider,Deux Ex,ThiefandLegacy Of Kainto Sweden’s Embracer Group for $300 million (£240 million) in cash, it has beenannounced. The studios being sold to Embracer include Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montréal and Square Enix Montréal, but not the UK-based Square Enix Collective. This means Square will retain publishing rights to IP including Life Is Strange,Just CauseandOutriders.
The deal transfers around 1,100 staff to Embracer and more than 50 ‘back-catalogue’ games. It’s expected to conclude sometime between July and September, in the second quarter of Embracer’s current financial year, subject to regulatory approvals. Embracer held an hour-long livestream to detail the announcement, which you can watch in fullhere. Compared to Microsoft’sbillion-dollar buying splurgein recent years, Embracer have landed these AAA studios for cheap – they’re only paying the equivalent of 960,000,000 Freddos.
Let’s Play Deus Ex: Happy Birthday, JC Denton!Watch on YouTube
Let’s Play Deus Ex: Happy Birthday, JC Denton!
The sale to Embracer comes in the same month that Crystal Dynamics announced theirnext Tomb Raider, built in Unreal Engine 5. Embracer may well see the value in reviving some of the properties Square Enix haven’t done much with in recent years too. The last time we saw a Thief game was more than eight years ago, whenJohn had some funwith it but felt it was doing an impression ofDishonored. The most recent entry in the Legacy Of Kain series, Defiance, was released nearly twenty years ago – long overdue another, perhaps?
