Embracer Group is a Swedish video game holding company controlled by Lars Wingefors. In 2016, the company was spun out of Nordic Games Group and in 2019 it was renamed Embracer Group.

As of 2024 they own more than 111 internal studios in over 45 countries in Europe and the Americas. Its subsidiaries are organized under ten groups: Amplifier Game Invest, Asmodee, CDE Entertainment, Coffee Stain Holding, Dark Horse Media, DECA Games, Easybrain, Embracer Freemode, Plaion and THQ Nordic. Each group has its own operations, subsidiaries and development studios.

Acquisitions

Date Company Country Parent company Value Ref.
August 2017 Black Forest Games  Germany THQ Nordic €1,360,000 [1][2]
Pieces Interactive  Sweden $350,000 [3]
November 2017 Experiment 101 $8,900,000 [4]
February 2018 Koch Media  Austria/ Germany Plaion $149,000,000 [5]
July 2018 HandyGames  Germany THQ Nordic [6]
November 2018 Coffee Stain Holding  Sweden Coffee Stain Holding $34,900,000 [7]
Bugbear Entertainment (90%)  Finland THQ Nordic
February 2019 18Point2  Australia Plaion €1,900,000 [8]
Warhorse Studios  Czech Republic €42,800,000 [9]
May 2019 Piranha Bytes  Germany THQ Nordic [10]
August 2019 KSM Plaion [11]
Gaya Entertainment [12]
Milestone  Italy €44,900,000 [13][14]
Gunfire Games  United States THQ Nordic [15]
Goodbye Kansas Game Invest
  • Fall Damage (50%)
  • Framebunker (21%)
  • Kavalri (21%)
  • Neon Giant (24%)
  • Palindrome Interactive (50%)
  Sweden Amplifier Game Invest $3,950,000 [16]
December 2019 Tarsier Studios  Sweden $10,500,000 [17]
February 2020 Saber Interactive
  • Saber Belarus
  • Saber Porto
  • Saber Russia
  • Saber Spain
  • Saber Sweden
  United States Saber Interactive $525,000,000 [18]
Voxler  France Plaion €1,900,000 [19]
May 2020 DestinyBit  Italy Amplifier Game Invest [20]
August 2020 4A Games  Malta/ Ukraine Saber Interactive $45,000,000 [21]
New World Interactive  United States
Rare Earth Games  Austria Amplifier Game Invest €3,300,000
Vermila Studios  Spain €900,000
Palindrome Interactive (remaining 50%)  Sweden
Pow Wow Entertainment  Austria THQ Nordic
DECA Games  Germany DECA Games €25,000,000
Sola Media Plaion $2,700,000
September 2020 Vertigo Games  Netherlands €50,000,000 [22]
November 2020 Flying Wild Hog  Poland $137,000,000 [23]
Purple Lamp Studios  Austria THQ Nordic
Zen Studios  Hungary Saber Interactive
Snapshot Games  Bulgaria
Nimble Giant Entertainment  Argentina
34BigThings  Italy
Mad Head Games  Serbia
Sandbox Strategies  United States
A Thinking Ape Entertainment  Canada DECA Games $31,000,000
IUGO Mobile Entertainment
Coffee Stain North (remaining 40%)  Sweden Coffee Stain Holding
Silent Games  United Kingdom Amplifier Game Invest
Quantic Lab (95%)  Romania €4,500,000
February 2021 Gearbox Software
  • Gearbox Studio Québec
  United States Gearbox Software $1,300,000,000 [24]
Easybrain  Cyprus/ Belarus Easybrain $640,000,000 [25]
Aspyr  United States Saber Interactive $450,000,000 [26]
SpringboardVR  United States Plaion [27]
May 2021 Kaiko  Germany THQ Nordic [28]
Massive Miniteam
Appeal  Belgium
Frame Break  Sweden Amplifier Game Invest
August 2021 3D Realms  Denmark/ United States Saber Interactive [29]
Slipgate Ironworks  Denmark
CrazyLabs  Israel DECA Games
DigixArt  France Plaion
Force Field  Netherlands
Ghost Ship Games (remaining 65%)  Denmark Coffee Stain Holding
Easy Trigger  Sweden
Grimfrost (70%) THQ Nordic
Demiurge Studios  United States Saber Interactive [30]
Fractured Byte  Estonia
SmartPhone Labs  Russia
September 2021 Bytex [31]
October 2021 Jufeng Studio  China DECA Games [32]
Splatter Connect  United Kingdom Plaion [33]
December 2021 Asmodee
  • Atomic Mass Games
  • Bezzerwizzer Studio
  • Catan Studio
  • Days of Wonder
  • Edge Entertainment
  • Fantasy Flight Games
  • Gamegenic
  • The Green Board Game Company
  • Libellud
  • Lookout Games
  • Mixlore
  • Pearl Games
  • Plan B Games
  • Purple Brain
  • Rebel Studio
  • Repos Production
  • Space Cow
  • Space Cowboys
  • Unexpected Games
  • Z-Man Games
  • Zygomatic
  France Asmodee €2,750,000,000 [34]
Green Tile Digital  Sweden Amplifier Game Invest [35]
Perfect World Entertainment  China Gearbox Software $125,000,000 [36]
Spotfilm Networkx  Germany Plaion [37]
Shiver Entertainment  United States Saber Interactive [38]
Digic Holdings  Hungary [39]
Dark Horse Media  United States Dark Horse Media [40]
February 2022 A Creative Endeavour  Sweden Amplifier Game Invest [41]
Metricminds  Germany THQ Nordic [42]
March 2022 Development Plus Inc.  United States Plaion [43]
Invisible Walls  Denmark Amplifier Game Invest [44]
April 2022 Beamdog  Canada Saber Interactive [45]
Lost Boys Interactive  United States Gearbox Software [46]
May 2022 Assets of Square Enix Europe CDE Entertainment $300,000,000 [47]
August 2022 Tripwire Interactive  United States Saber Interactive [48]
Tuxedo Labs  Sweden
Middle-earth Enterprises  United States Embracer Freemode
Limited Run Games  United States
Bitwave Games  Sweden
Gioteck  United Kingdom
Singtrix  United States
Tatsujin  Japan
October 2022 Anime Limited  United Kingdom /  France Plaion Pictures [49][50][51]
VR Distribution  Australia /  United Kingdom Asmodee [52]
January 2023 Captured Dimensions  United States Gearbox Software [53]

Divestitures

Date Company Operative group Buyer Price Ref.
November 2019 Foxglove Studios THQ Nordic Management buyout [54]
July 2023 Goose Byte Amplifier Game Invest [55]
October 2023 Fall Damage Fragbite $1,800,000 [56]
February 2024 Saber Interactive Saber Interactive Beacon Interactive $247,000,000 [a] [57]
March 2024 Gearbox Software Gearbox Entertainment Take-Two Interactive $460,000,000 [58]

Notes

  1. ^ Beacon Interactive has the option to later acquire 4A Games and Zen Studios from Embracer Group, which will raise the total acquisition price to $500 Million if exercised

References

  1. ^ Brightman, James (21 August 2017). "THQ Nordic acquires Black Forest Games". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 24 August 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
  2. ^ "German game studio Black Forest Games acquired by Swedish game developer THQ Nordic". 22 August 2017.
  3. ^ Novac, Dragos (28 August 2017). "THQ Nordic buys Pieces Interactive, one of the veteran Swedish gaming companies, for $350k". Nordic 9. Archived from the original on 20 June 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
  4. ^ Kerr, Chris (17 November 2017). "THQ Nordic acquires Biomutant developer Experiment 101". Gamessutra. Archived from the original on 2018-05-12.
  5. ^ "De Blob publisher THQ Nordic buys Koch Media for €121m". 14 February 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-02-14. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  6. ^ "THQ Nordic acquires the German game developer and publisher HandyGames" (Press release). Embracer Group. 9 July 2018. Archived from the original on 14 February 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
  7. ^ Kerr, Chris (November 14, 2018). "THQ Nordic acquires Coffee Stain and Bugbear Entertainment". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on 14 November 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
  8. ^ Kerr, Chris (13 February 2019). "Australian publishing partner 18Point2 acquired by THQ Nordic". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on 14 February 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  9. ^ James, Sarah (13 February 2019). "THQ Nordic acquire Kingdom Come: Deliverance makers Warhorse Studios". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 19 February 2019. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  10. ^ Jackson, Mike (22 May 2019). "THQ Nordic acquires Gothic developer Piranha Bytes". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 29 May 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
  11. ^ Blaney2019-08-16T11:06:00+01:00, Martin. "Koch Films acquires German indie distributor KSM". Screen. Retrieved 2020-05-08.((cite web)): CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ "Koch Media acquires Gaya Entertainment as it continues rapid expansion of both its reach and breadth of services". MCV/DEVELOP. 2019-08-23. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
  13. ^ Blake, Vikki (14 August 2019). "Koch Media to acquire Milestone and all IPs, including MotoGP and Supercross". MCV. Archived from the original on 5 September 2021. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  14. ^ Wingefors, Lars (14 August 2019). "THQ Nordic completes the acquisition of Milestone". Cision. Archived from the original on 14 August 2019. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  15. ^ Romano, Sal (14 August 2019). "THQ Nordic acquires Gunfire Games". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 14 August 2019. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  16. ^ Handrahan, Matthew (14 August 2019). "THQ Nordic strengthens portfolio with Goodbye Kansas Game Invest acquisition". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 14 August 2019. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  17. ^ "Embracer Group acquires critically acclaimed Tarsier Studios" (Press release). Embracer Group. 20 December 2019. Archived from the original on 20 December 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
  18. ^ "Embracer Group acquires Saber Interactive in $525m deal". 19 February 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-02-19. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  19. ^ "Koch Media | Koch Media acquires singing game developer VOXLER".
  20. ^ Romano, Sal (20 May 2020). "Amplifier Game Invest acquires DESTINYbit". Gematsu. Archived from the original on 27 May 2020. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  21. ^ Kerr, Chris (13 August 2020). "THQ parent company Embracer has purchased Metro dev 4A Games and others". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on 15 August 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  22. ^ "Embracer Group acquires Vertigo Games". Gematsu. September 15, 2020. Archived from the original on September 16, 2020. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  23. ^ "Embracer Group acquires 13 studios: Here's everything you need to know". 18 November 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-11-29. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
  24. ^ Takahashi, Dean (February 2, 2021). "Embracer Group acquires Borderlands maker Gearbox Entertainment for $1.3 billion". Venture Beat. Archived from the original on February 3, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  25. ^ Takahashi, Dean (February 2, 2021). "Embracer Group acquires mobile game maker Easybrain for $640 million". Venture Beat. Archived from the original on February 3, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  26. ^ Takahashi, Dean (February 2, 2021). "Embracer Group acquires Aspyr Media for up to $450 million". Venture Beat. Archived from the original on February 3, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  27. ^ Feltham, Jamie (2021-02-03). "Vertigo Games Buys VR Arcade Platform SpringboardVR". Retrieved 2022-04-18.
  28. ^ "Embracer Group acquires Appeal Studios, KAIKO, Massive Miniteam and FRAME BREAK". Archived from the original on 2021-05-12. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
  29. ^ "Embracer Group acquires 3D Realms, CrazyLabs, Digixart, Easy Trigger, Force Field, Ghost Ship Games, Grimfrost, and Slipgate Ironworks". Gematsu. August 4, 2021. Archived from the original on August 5, 2021. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  30. ^ "Embracer's next three acquisitions are Demiurge Studios, Fractured Byte and SmartPhone Labs". 18 August 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-08-18. Retrieved 2021-08-18.
  31. ^ "Embracer Group snaps up QA studio Bytex known for working on games like SnowRunner and World War Z". 22 September 2021. Retrieved 2021-09-22.
  32. ^ "Embracer Group acquires mobile game developer Jufeng Studio and eight mobile titles".
  33. ^ "Koch Media acquires Splatter Connect". GamesIndustry.biz. 20 October 2021. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
  34. ^ "Embracer purchases Asmodee for €2.75bn". 15 December 2021.
  35. ^ "AMPLIFIER ACQUIRES SWEDISH STUDIO GREEN TILE DIGITAL". 15 December 2021.
  36. ^ "EMBRACER GROUP ENTERS INTO AGREEMENT TO ACQUIRE PERFECT WORLD ENTERTAINMENT".
  37. ^ "EMBRACER GROUP ENTERS INTO AGREEMENT TO ACQUIRE SPOTFILM NETWORX".
  38. ^ "EMBRACER GROUP ACQUIRES SHIVER ENTERTAINMENT".
  39. ^ "EMBRACER GROUP ENTERS INTO AGREEMENT TO ACQUIRE DIGIC".
  40. ^ "EMBRACER GROUP ENTERS INTO AN AGREEMENT TO ACQUIRE DARK HORSE AND FORMS THE TENTH OPERATIVE GROUP".
  41. ^ "AMPLIFIER GAME INVEST ACQUIRES A CREATIVE ENDEAVOR". 23 February 2022.
  42. ^ "THQ Nordic acquires animated content studio metricminds". Gematsu. February 24, 2022.
  43. ^ "Koch Media acquires Game Merchandise Specialists "Development Plus Inc." and "DPI Logistics LLC"".
  44. ^ "Amplifier Game Invest acquires Danish game studio Invisible Walls". 16 March 2022.
  45. ^ "Knights of the Old Republic remake studio Aspyr has acquired Beamdog". 13 April 2022.
  46. ^ "Gearbox to acquire Tiny Tina co-developer Lost Boys Interactive". 21 April 2022.
  47. ^ "Embracer Group enters into an agreement to acquire Eidos, Crystal Dynamics, and Square Enix Montréal amongst other assets". Embracer. 2022-05-02. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
  48. ^ "Embracer Group makes more acquisitions, including the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings IP". 2022-08-18.
  49. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (18 October 2022). "German Film Magazine: PLAION Pictures Acquires UK's Anime Limited". Anime News Network. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  50. ^ "BREAKING: Anime Limited Acquired by Plaion Pictures". Anime UK News. 18 October 2022. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  51. ^ Rumbacher, Jörg (18 October 2022). "Plaion Pictures übernimmt Anime Ltd" (in German). Blickpunkt:Film. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  52. ^ Campbell, Maude (2022-10-20). "ASMODEE GROUP ACQUIRES VR GROUP TO EXPAND MASS-MARKET DISTRIBUTION". The Toy Book. Archived from the original on 2022-10-20. Retrieved 2022-10-21.
  53. ^ "Gearbox Entertainment Company Announces Acquisition of Captured Dimensions". Gearbox Software. January 4, 2023. Archived from the original on January 4, 2023. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  54. ^ Wingefors, Lars (27 August 2019). "THQ Nordic Annual Report 2018/19" (PDF). Cision. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 September 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2019.
  55. ^ "The video game studio".
  56. ^ "Fragbite Group acquires DICE alum studio Fall Damage".
  57. ^ Writer, Jeffrey Rousseau Staff (2024-02-29). "Report: Saber Interactive buys itself back from Embracer in $500m deal". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
  58. ^ https://www.ign.com/articles/take-two-buys-gearbox-from-embracer-confirms-development-on-new-borderlands-game

External links

Embracer Group
Mergers and acquisitions by company
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