Embracer Group, the enormous holding company notorious for buying up studios and IP, is preparing for a significant restructure. In order to "realize untapped potential in Embracer Group and better optimize the use of our resources", the conglomerate is set to make some sweeping changes which, sadly, include layoffs, studio closures, and project cancellations.
Currently, there's no mention how severe these cutbacks will be. In an open letter from CEO Lars Wingefors, it's said the company employs nearly 17,000 people. That figure "will be lower by the end of the year", but it's apparently "too early to give an exact forecast on this". Similarly, it's not yet been disclosed which studios and games will be shut down and cancelled, although it looks like anything currently announced is safe. The open letter also states Embracer will look to "provide opportunities for our colleagues to transition onto other projects".
Here's Embracer's list of key areas of change:
- Matthew Karch appointed interim Chief Operating Officer, and Phil Rogers appointed interim Chief Strategy Officer, to co-lead the program planning and implementation
- Reduction of general overhead, corporate, publishing and SG&A costs
- The closing of studios and termination of projects, that have not yet been announced and with low projected returns
- Creation of a more comprehensive, centralized process for game investment and progress review, while maintaining creative freedom
- Consolidation of companies and businesses, including review of operative group structures
- Reduction of investments into external development with greater focus on internal development based on owned or controlled IP
- Increased external funding of internally developed, large-budget games
- Renewed focus on the Group’s main business areas
- Implementing a centralized and standardized, more data-driven and precise approach to game forecasting
Embracer Group houses several major publishing arms such as THQ Nordic, Plaion (previously Koch Media), Gearbox Entertainment, and many others. Each of these has multiple development studios underneath it, with notable teams including Crystal Dynamics, Eidos Montreal, 3D Realms, Gearbox Software, and Aspyr Media. At the end of last year, it was stated that Embracer Group plans to release 234 games by March 2026.
"Embracer was founded on the values of trust, a long-term mindset, and a desire to embrace different perspectives," Wingefors says. "As difficult as some of the decisions we will take over the coming weeks and months will be, we are doing this because we are confident that we will emerge a stronger, more efficient company setting out on a stable future to build even greater value across our many studios and fantastic portfolio of IPs."
[source embracer.com, via embracer.com, gematsu.com]
Comments 41
They got the embrace of death huh
Surprise surprise.
I really hope this doesn't affect Free Radical and the TimeSplitters project.
It's awful going through the consultations. Hope those affected land on their feet quickly.
It's sad but let's face it. This was inevitable. Embracer just never seemed to really have a vision for their company. The whole mindset was just buy up as much as they can no matter if it's profitable or not. That's just not a good idea and the ramifications are making themselves known now. I hope it's not too bad but I'd expect the worst.
@B-I-G-DEVIL Timesplitters is the textbook definition of development hell at this point.
"better optimize the use of our resources"
Yeah more like make 1 person do the job of 5 others so we can save more money, in simple terms.
Just stay away from Warhorse Studios, you swines, or let someone else take care of them.
Sounds like too much, too young, too fast.
Hopefully some teams land on their feet and get bought by financially stable companies.
They expanded way too fast to manage the studios well, it felt like every month there were articles about Embracer buying more IPs and studios.
You telling me buying over 100 Developer teams was a bad financial decision? 🤣
As others have mentioned, this was inevitable. I have never understood the mindset behind Embracer Group, and I find their "strategy" even more disgusting now that they've realized the obvious and must now do a bunch of lay-offs.
Maybe Nintendo will buy them
Does this company even do anything other than snap up companies and ip's? What's the biggest game any of their subsidiaries have actually published after being acquired?
Time to embrace the void.
Honestly, Embracer hasn’t really made the kind of quality games that would suggest their size as a business makes sense beyond them being an investment and industry consolidation platform. Hope the talented devs that get laid off find greener pastures
This is why just going out and buying everything isn't great. Obviously I appreciate Microsoft is much more stable, but all it takes is a change in CEO or a change in direction and they'll cut it all loose without batting an eyelid.
And before anyone starts on me, that also applies to any giant company, including Sony!
This was inevitable, buying developers left and right while the output is average to non existent.
@Ravix Gollum was released by Daedalic, owned by Nacon.
Crystal dynamics jumping from the frying pan to the fire. Have to feel sorry for the staff
As for embracer, there is no way they could possibly integrate so many studios into their umbrella in such a short space of time, making for an impossible to manage situation.
Have to assume they will increasingly licence out the ip they have scooped up and profit that way - at least in the short to medium term - whilst they assess what they want to be doing in the longer term
Seems a good thing Tomb Raider was bought by Amazon. Now we wait and see how the next TR turns out.
Sad for all the people wondering if they'll be cut or already have been.
Maybe the big spending spree wasn't such a great idea?
@Adol_Xin oops 😅 I don't tend to follow these things, just had in my mind they own the Tolkien IP's (they do, in fact, own LotR since 2022. But I stopped caring whether or not that means the Gollum garbage affects them or not)
'Implementing a centralized and standardized, more data-driven and precise approach to game forecasting'
And this here folks is why all their games are crap. You want to copy current trends, expect to be severely compromised in any artistic pursuit.
@themcnoisy that's what worries me. Data driven. Data driven? F***ing corporate bs.
All the best games are passion projects, all the worst games are the ones trying to do things to fit the 'data and analytics' and go over the creative's heads with final decisions. And the above average and good games in between are still more on the passion side of the scale on some level, be that in their writing, world design, or simply gameplay mechanics developed by the talented people.
Won't somebody tell these companies to back talented creators to find success, whether it's an established IP, or completely new, talent always shines through.
They grew too much too fast
Their business model seemed unsustainable. What a shame.
@get2sammyb Wow! I knew someone was going to mention Microsoft but I didn't think you'd be first! 🤣
While there are many interesting points Embracer states, the part of "Increased external funding of internally developed, large-budget games" just for the sake of the games themselves is very intriguing. That sounds a lot like exclusive development for whatever platform or subscription service (or "selling" specific projects to those).
What was interesting to oberserve over the years was that all the "branches" they bought (like Koch Media) continued to operate like nothing changed - Many of them are just doing their own thing. In one way, that is good for the excisting company but it was definitely lacking a complete and connecting strategy. But with that being said: Maybe Embracer really just wanted to have all puzzle pieces first before starting to create all the changes, using or combining their assets more effecient (like one main distributor, one combined merch shop, a few publishing brands instead of a dozen etc.).
It will be interesting to see how this will continue to develop.
crystal dynamics will be a shell of its former self soon enough. they were better under s-e. embracer and thq spent the better part of decade purchashing every studio and publisher it could, only to shut many of them down in the near future. these guys are hacks.
Hearing this corporate lingo makes me cringe. I hate that most of us are forced to work under some companies corporate thumb. The company I work for just went through consultation and they laid off over half my department. I wasn't one of the ones axed but it was terrible watching the people affected go through that.
People are talkng about Crystal Dynamics a lot, but my first guess is Volition will be closed. Saint's Row landed with a big thud and Volition hasn't had a hit since Saint's Row 4, which feels like a lifetime ago now.
I think Crystal Dyanamics has a long enough track record of hits prior to Avengers that they will survive mostly intact. But I worry about Eidos Montreal and Deus Ex, as they didn't officially announce a new title, and they have sort of an up and down history in terms of commercial hits. Thief, Guardian's, I liked both of those games but they both clearly did not perform to Square's expectations. Neither did Mankind Divided.
Buying stuff with money you don't have is never a good idea!
Agree with other's sentiments that on one hand you have a parent company that resurrected the THQ label amongst assembling a range of IP's but has somehow had a bunch of underwhelming releases to show for it.
Highly anticipated remastets like Kingdoms of Amalur instead became "meh",ditto Red Faction series,& didn't they release that Saints Row reboot that seemingly lost its over the top edge & the Darksiders series was one of theirs too?🤔
Again,says a lot for games that had their fans in the ps3/360 eras but mostly been known for being mostly low grade ports or bland reboots!
Unfortunately in a day & age of consolidation i fear either IP sales to lord knows who to try make a quick buck back,& ruin it like Disney does or they reduce teams to smaller sizes & take the Take-two Grove Street Gajes approach to remasters & let A.i. bots spew out something akin to GTA "definitive edition remaster" quality!😕
Tomb Raider might be safe,but not so good forcany Legacy of Kain revival!
@Triumph741 They should not waste the money for something big like that. And why would they even want to do this let them make their own games that worked great. Better make. ten fantastic games then a hundred bad ones.
@Uncharted2007 Good that it's bought by Amazon? They didn't release anything that is decent so far?
So like Ubisoft the same regurgitated stuff or saying it simple copy and paste stuff.
-Increased external funding of internally developed, large-budget games
So more monetization and crappy other stuff let's be honest funding isn't done to make the games better just make cash fast not regarding quality.
-The closing of studios and termination of projects, that have not yet been announced and with low projected returns.
Why even buy them then it's the EA way buy and close down and sit on the IP's. That's why we need more independent studio's instead of less.
-Reduction of general overhead, corporate, publishing and SG&A costs
Stop making those €400 CE that are still available in the stores at half the price a year later.
-Creation of a more comprehensive, centralized process for game investment and progress review, while maintaining creative freedom
Thats not going to happen those two things are not going together.
Want to safe money buy less make more quality games instead. Why 230 plus games in such a small time frame while firing 17000 people. Less nonsense like the insane expensive CE games.
I knew all these acquisitions that were being made by these guys would backfire. One acquisition I am a bit worried about is Limited Run. Hopefully that doesn’t get effected by layoffs or closures. I have a copy of Radiant Silvergun that I bought around 6 months ago from them that has yet to be released and I don’t want to lose out on that anytime soon!
@Bionic-Spencer Oh yes you are right or even worse they will cut the quality down to safe costs.
@Flaming_Kaiser Yes. That means the IP isn't potentially on the chopping block.
Whatever happens just make sure Legacy of Kain comes out of it okay!
They better not shut down the studios that worked on Destroy All Humans, SpongeBob, Darksiders, and Tomb Raider.
There are probably more studios I'm not thinking of, but those are the ones that matter the most to me.
@Korgon I always found it crazy how quickly they were acquiring game studios...hopefully all of the people working at these impacted studios are able to move on and find other work.
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