The Rise and Fall of Embracer (aka THQ Nordic)

[Rahdulan]

they should leak release DNF 2001 build already

I just don't understand why Randy Pitchford sat on it. Was there simply no way to monetize so he never bothered?

 

[Deflowerer]

Well some of you guys in Sweden or Europe can always apply to their game archival jobs.

https://embracer.com/about/gamesarchive/

 

[Abu Antar]

Well some of you guys in Sweden or Europe can always apply to their game archival jobs.

https://embracer.com/about/gamesarchive/

Application time has ran out. Either the positions have been filled, but they forgot to remove the postings, or no one/no suitable individuals have applied.

 

[Deflowerer]

The Anschlussing continues. If this bubble isn't going to blow up then I don't know what.

Dunno, seems like a viable business strategy in the mid-market space. Need a lot of titles and IPs to make sure risks are diversified. Otherwise you run into the AAA syndrome of having to rely on 1-2 major hits focus-tested to hell and back.

 

[LESS T_T]

Embraced more work-for-hire and mobile game studios.

https://embracer.com/release/embracer-group-enters-into-agreement-to-acquire-ou-fractured-byte/

EMBRACER GROUP ENTERS INTO AGREEMENT TO ACQUIRE OÜ FRACTURED BYTE

Embracer Group AB ("Embracer"), through its wholly owned subsidiary Saber Interactive Inc.[1] ("Saber"), has entered into an agreement to acquire 100 percent of the shares in OÜ Fractured Byte ("Fractured Byte"). Fractured Byte is a well-regarded game studio, with headquarters in Estonia and a team of approx. 50 developers based across Ukraine, primarily working with independent game development and porting projects. Through the acquisition, Saber onboards a creative and cost-effective studio with a founder-led team, that will continue to collaborate with Saber on development projects.

[1] Acquired through Embracer's wholly owned subsidiary Embracer Group Lager 2 AB and will be part of the Saber Interactive group.

“Fractured Byte is an impressive studio that has done fantastic work on world-class IPs in its relative short history. We’re excited to bring them into the fold to collaborate closely together moving forward”, says Andrey Iones, COO and co-founder of Saber Interactive.

Background and rationale

Founded in 2018, Fractured Byte is an independent studio with headquarters located in Tallin, Estonia and with development operations across three locations in Ukraine. The studio has extensive game development experience and has collaborated with global developers and publishers on porting projects. For example, the studio’s experience involves work on titles such as Borderlands: The Legendary Collection and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 and 2 for Nintendo Switch. Fractured Byte is led by one of its co-founders who will remain as CEO.

Through the acquisition, Saber onboards an experienced team that adds to Embracer’s work-for-hire capabilities and continues to build on the longstanding relationship with the studio. Going forward, Fractured Byte will continue to operate as a subsidiary to Saber and work closely with the Saber team on internal and external game development projects.

“We are excited to team up with Saber to build on our existing relationship. We look forward to growing the studio under Saber and Embracer and continue making great games”, says co-founder and CEO of Fractured Byte.

https://embracer.com/release/embracer-group-enters-into-agreement-to-acquire-demiurge-studios/

EMBRACER GROUP ENTERS INTO AGREEMENT TO ACQUIRE DEMIURGE STUDIOS

Embracer Group AB (”Embracer”), through its wholly owned subsidiary Saber Interactive Inc. (“Saber”), has entered into an agreement to acquire 100 percent of the shares in Demiurge Studios, Inc. (“Demiurge”) from its current owners. Demiurge is an independent games development studio based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US. Through the transaction, Saber onboards an experienced team of developers and strengthens its’ footprint in the US.

“Demiurge is one of the most highly respected development studios in the world. Their expertise is without parallel and their reputation for tackling the hardest technical tasks makes them a perfect fit for Saber’s plan to vastly expand its work-for-hire business”, says Matt Karch, Co-founder and CEO of Saber Interactive.

Background and rationale

Demiurge Studios is an independent games developer based just outside of vibrant gaming hub Boston in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US, founded in 2002 by Albert Reed, Chris Linder and Tom Lin. Demiurge has a rich history, and after a shift in strategy in 2008 to focus on free-to-play mobile, Demiurge was acquired by SEGA’s mobile division in 2015, and then re-acquired in a management buyout in 2020 by Albert Reed. The original founders are still involved in Demiurge today and CEO Kurt Reiner leads the team of 68 employees in total.

Demiurge Studios has been involved in many co-development projects and contributed to over two dozen titles, out of which four are original mobile free-to-play titles: Crazy Taxi Gazillionaire, Sega Heroes, Puzzle and Glory, and Marvel Puzzle Quest. The studio develops games cross-platform and is now focusing primarily on the AAA segment. It has worked with leading international developers and publishers such as THQ, Gearbox, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, SEGA, and Epic Games on titles such as Titan Quest, Borderlands, Brothers-in-Arms, Mass Effect, Medal of Honor: Airborne, and Rocket League: Sideswipe.

During 2021, management expects that Demiurge will generate approx. $15m in revenues. The studio is profitable and has an exciting pipeline to accelerate growth and grow the team past 350+ employees during the next five years.

“Our search for a partner that would give us the freedom and trust to grow our business has led us to this day. Demiurge fits perfectly into the Saber/Embracer ecosystem and we have plans for immediate and rapid growth as part of the company”, says Kurt Reiner, CEO of Demiurge Studios.

Through the acquisition, Saber onboards a talented team that will strengthen Embracer’s work-for-hire capabilities with significant experience of AAA game development. Demiurge further builds on Saber’s footprint in the US and enables direct access to Boston, a city with tremendous talent and a major hub of game development on the East Coast.

https://embracer.com/release/embracer-group-acquires-smartphone-labs/

EMBRACER GROUP ACQUIRES SMARTPHONE LABS

Embracer Group AB (”Embracer”), through its wholly owned subsidiary Saber Interactive Inc.[1] (“Saber”), has entered into an agreement to acquire 100 percent of the shares in Russian-based SmartPhone Labs (”SPL”), an independent software testing and games development company for mobile, PC, consoles and VR, from its founders.

[1] Acquired through Embracer's wholly owned subsidiary Embracer Group Lager 2 AB and will be part of the Saber Interactive group.

“We have worked with SPL for a long time and are excited to bring them into the Embracer family. This acquisition will add talent, development and testing capabilities to our organization and will add value to our internal development projects,” says Andrey Iones, COO and co-founder of Saber Interactive.

Background and rationale

SPL is an independent software testing and game development company, established in 2002 and led to this day by its co-founder Artem Kharitonov. The studio is based in Veliky Novgorod, Russia, and engages over 100 employees. SPL develops games on multiple platforms including PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, mobile and VR. They focus on modern production and testing practices and have extensive experience working with Unity, custom C++ engines, VR and backend systems. SPL has a long-standing developer relationship with Saber, having collaborated on many successful projects including bringing Mudrunner to mobile and World War Z to Switch, in addition to several work-for-hire projects.

Within Embracer, SPL will operate as a subsidiary under Saber Interactive, with continued focus on software testing and games development. With the acquisition of SPL, that was owned by the founders and current management, Saber will onboard an experienced team and will further strengthen Saber’s position in Russia and Eastern Europe.

“We are thrilled that SPL is joining forces with the world class team at Saber. Saber has been our partner for a long time and we really share their values. I look forward to continue working with the team at Saber on new exiting projects in the future”, says Artem Kharitonov, co-founder and CEO of SPL.

 

[DeepOcean]

If people on Embracer had a few brain cells, they would get one of those studios that have mappers already experienced enough making boomer shooters and had them making a new proper retro Duke Nukem on the cheap. I think reviving the old concept of Duke Nukem Forever before 3d Realms ruined it, as a boomer shooter would be pretty nice.

 

[Abu Antar]

They are happy with Biomutant sales, they made a few more acquisitions, and suggested a split in their stock. Financial report was released. I'm pumping in a few more $????k.

 

[fork]

Shit-world.

 

[Infinitron]

Prepare for THQ Nordic Fest with Geoff Keighley:

To celebrate our 10th anniversary, we are throwing a digital party! Join us for the first, official THQ Nordic digital showcase event on September 17th at 9 pm CEST / 12 PM PST / 8 PM BST / 10 PM MSK on YouTube, Twitch, and Steam.

The showcase will be hosted by Geoff Keighley, executive producer and host of The Game Awards, and will feature six new games. Witness the return of legendary franchises and sequels to beloved games. We hope you are ready, kids!

Additionally, we will also release new information and footage for our upcoming games, ELEX II and Expeditions: Rome. If you tune in early, you might also get a glimpse of what our friends at HandyGames have been up to!

All content creators are invited to co-stream the showcase on their own channels. THQ Nordic is cooperating with Twitch and YouTube to make sure that all licensed music can be part of the stream. If you’d like to participate or have any questions, please reach out to: contentcreators@thqnordic.com

 

[Infinitron]

Today is the day:

 

[Infinitron]

It's live:

 

[Belegarsson]

NUT

 

[rusty_shackleford]

the elex 2 video was awful, and no release date

elex fans cucked AGAIN

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

Destroy All Human Anuses Twice sounds alright. But having the audacity to embark on a Jagged Alliance 3 is just pure heresy.

 

[ADL]

After this they're gonna give us the Destroy All Humans 3 we deserve right? I never played Path of the Furon, it looked terrible.

 

[DeepOcean]

How much this new shovelware version of Jagged Alliance will suck? Worse or as awful as the previous ones?

 

[Baron Dupek]

How much this new shovelware version of Jagged Alliance will suck? Worse or as awful as the previous ones?

It's made by Tropico devs and it's inspired by nuXCOM so down the toilet it goes

 

[JDR13]

All the trailers were pretty bad except maybe the one for Jagged Aliance 3. The new Outcast game looks cringeworthy from what I saw.

 

[JDR13]

the elex 2 video was awful, and no release date

elex fans cucked AGAIN

Nah... there's a live stream being shown separately.

 

[vortex]

Reads Prophecies of Nostradamus
Jagged Aliance 3 indicates second coming of Lilura on dex.

 

[Ismaul]

Outcast 2? Holy molly!

And ELEX 2? Man I'mma run out of tissues.


Edit: Saw the Outcast 2 trailer, and damn is that voice actress miscast. I hope they have something of better quality in French like they did in the original. They also stole ELEX's jetpack, not a bad idea. And somehow I get the feeling they want to be the Avatar of video games.

 

[fantadomat]

Outcast 2? Holy molly!

And ELEX 2? Man I'mma run out of tissues.

It is pretty weird,yeah. Outcast is cool and interesting game for sure,but not a franchise power. That is like making Nomad soul 2 or fucking Anachronox 2 lol.

 

[Ismaul]

Nomad soul 2

My god man.

The game wasn't all that great but the bodyswapping concept was wild. Music too. I wish there were more such games with an experimental design.

 

[Denim Destroyer]

Outcast 2? Holy molly!

And ELEX 2? Man I'mma run out of tissues.

It is pretty weird,yeah. Outcast is cool and interesting game for sure,but not a franchise power. That is like making Nomad soul 2 or fucking Anachronox 2 lol.

You say that like a second Anachronox would be a bad thing.

 

[fantadomat]

Nomad soul 2

My god man.

The game wasn't all that great but the bodyswapping concept was wild. Music too. I wish there were more such games with an experimental design.

Outcast 2? Holy molly!

And ELEX 2? Man I'mma run out of tissues.

It is pretty weird,yeah. Outcast is cool and interesting game for sure,but not a franchise power. That is like making Nomad soul 2 or fucking Anachronox 2 lol.

You say that like a second Anachronox would be a bad thing.

Both games are good old games. But still weird pic to make a sequel from company point of view. Would love to play a sequel to both of them tho .