Lower than two weeks after the shock closure of Saints Row studio Volition, a Reuters report says Embracer Group is now trying to rid itself of Borderlands studio Gearbox Leisure—not by a shutdown this time, however a sale.
Three nameless sources informed Reuters that unnamed third events have expressed curiosity in Gearbox. Nothing is carved in stone at this level, however the report says Embracer is now working with funding banks Goldman Sachs and Aream & Co. to “discover” the potential for a sale.
Embracer acquired Gearbox Leisure in 2021 in a deal that was price as much as $1.3 billion. It was a spotlight of a rapid-fire spending spree that noticed Embracer scoop up Crystal Dynamics, Eidos Montreal, Sq. Enix Montreal, Tripwire Interactive, Saber Interactive, Koch Media (now often known as Plaion), and a complete bunch of others.
However that seemingly unstoppable progress got here to a really sudden halt in Might, when a beforehand unannounced “groundbreaking strategic partnership” price greater than $2 billion fell by on the final minute. Lower than a month later, Embracer introduced a “complete” restructuring of the corporate that would come with the cancellation of in-development video games, studio closures and gross sales, and naturally layoffs.
On August 31—simply two months after celebrating the studio’s 30 years of operation—Embracer closed Volition “as a part of that program.” A sale of Gearbox, which would supply a money infusion and presumably relieve Embracer of its future performance-based monetary obligations tied to the acquisition of Gearbox, would additionally appear to suit the targets of that program: Primarily to assist Embracer discover extra steady monetary footing with out the huge funding it had been relying on.
A separate Bloomberg report stated an electronic mail about the potential for a sale had been despatched to Gearbox employees earlier as we speak. Gearbox Chief Communications Officer Dan Hewitt informed the location that “the bottom case” is that Gearbox will stay part of Embracer, however that “there are numerous choices into consideration, together with Gearbox’s switch, taking Gearbox unbiased, and others.”
I’ve reached out to Embracer for extra data and can replace if I obtain a reply.