Embracer’s press release explains that this acquisition concerns no less than 50 games and licenses from Square Enix’s western catalog, licenses including Tomb Raider), Deus Ex, Thief, or even Legacy of Kain. Embracer intends to pay in cash for this catalog of licenses and take under its wing the three main Western studios of Square Enix, namely Crystal Dynamics, Eidos Montreal and Square Enix Montreal, which represent a total of 1,100 employees.
To say the least, seeing Square Enix so easily draw a line under much of its Western activity seems like a radical strategic decision to say the least, even if CEO Yosuke Matsuda had not hesitated to let IO Interactive slip away. and its Hitman license in the spring of 2017. We also knew that the misfortune of games like Marvel’s Avengers and to a lesser extent Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy had weakened Square Enix in its ability to meet the challenge of Western AAAs.
But it was still hard to imagine that Yosuke Matsuda would have separated so easily from a license like Tomb Raider (88 million games sold), whose next opus is in development with the Unreal Engine 5, or even from Deus Ex (12 million games sold). Square Enix’s very good financial results did not suggest any need to sell such assets, even if Square Enix owes most of its economic guarantees to its Japanese mobile games, Final Fantasy 14 or its greatest successes. Japanese, like Final Fantasy 7 Remake recently.
Square Enix keeps Just Cause, Life is Strange and Outriders
May 2, 2022 will go down in Square Enix history. 13 years after the purchase of Eidos Interactive and licenses such as Tomb Raider, Deus Ex and Legacy of Kain, the publisher therefore chooses to refocus on its Japanese brands and studios. However, the operation does not include all of the Western licenses of Square Enix, which remains in possession of Just Cause, Life is Strange or the recent Outriders. In addition to its Japanese development studios, Square Enix therefore maintains its Square Enix External Studios department and its independent games program Square Enix Collective.
Faced with shareholders, Square Enix justifies the sale of these studios and licenses in sight « help the company adapt to the ongoing changes in the global business environment by implementing a more efficient allocation of resources, which will improve business efficiency« . The savings made by the sale of these studios and licenses will also make it possible to finance « launching new businesses with investments in areas including blockchain, AI and cloud« , which will not fail to make many players dream, including our readership.
Embracer believes there will be growing demand for high-quality content, especially AAA single-player games, over the decade.
« We are delighted to welcome these studios to the Embracer group. We are aware of the fantastic licensing, world-class creative talent and reputation for excellence they have demonstrated time and time again over the past decades. It was with great pleasure that we met the management teams and discussed their future plans so that they can achieve their ambitions and become an important part of Embracer“, comments Lars Wingefors, co-founder and CEO of Embracer Group.
« Embracer is gaming’s best-kept secret: a massive, decentralized collection of entrepreneurs that we’re thrilled to be a part of today. It fits perfectly with our ambitions: to create high-quality games, with great people, in a sustainable way, and to evolve our existing franchises in the best possible way. Embracer allows us to forge new partnerships across all mediums to maximize the potential of our franchises and fulfill our dream of creating extraordinary entertainment.« , adds Phil Rogers, CEO of Square Enix America and Europe.
Once the operation is finalized, which is expected to take place between July and September 2022, Embracer will rule over 14,000 employees, including 10,000 developers, in 124 internal studios. The catalog of Lars Wingefors’ group includes more than 230 games in development, including around thirty major productions. Among them, the next Tomb Raider from Crystal Dynamics but also the AAA games in preparation at Eidos Montreal, which is working on new licenses and known licenses.
- Also Read | The Tomb Raider saga celebrates its 25th anniversary and its 85 million games sold