Embracer Group has been in a tough spot for months now, with multiple rounds of mass layoffs, studio shutdowns, game cancelations, as well as rumors circulating of its subsidiaries being put up for sale coming through. Now, new reports from Kotaku and Bloomberg has revealed Embracer is close to selling off two major subsidiaries of the company: Gearbox Entertainment and Saber Interactive.
Reports of the Borderlands franchise developer Gearbox being put up for sale first surfaced in September of 2023. Kotaku"s latest findings say that a deal to sell is in the final stages now, with the other options of staying with Embracer or going independent falling through. Gearbox CEO and co-founder Randy Pitchford will reportedly announce details of the studio"s future in March.
Gearbox"s two major development teams and its indie publishing wing were acquired by Embracer in 2021 for a cool $1.4 billion. If the reports are accurate, it has taken less than three years for Gearbox to go on sale again, and it"s still unknown what the new price might be, and who will be the new owner.
Meanwhile, the Bloomberg report by Jason Schreier says Saber Interactive is the next wing of Embracer being sold, in a deal worth up to $500 million. A group of investors are reportedly the buyers, making Saber a privately owned studio if the deal is confirmed to go through. The studio was originally acquired by Embracer for $525 million in 2020.
The 3500-developers strong studio will continue to work on its current projects such as the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake and Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, per the report. The remake was announced during the 2021 PlayStation Showcase as a timed exclusive for the platform, being developed by Saber and Aspyr Media. However, after major issues that pushed back the project indefinitely, Saber has been developing as a solo endeavor.