Embracer Group to acquire Gearbox Entertainment, Easybrain, and Aspyr in massive deals

It is a big day for Embracer Group, the company behind behemoth subsidiaries such as THQ Nordic and Koch Media, as it has announced another round of acquisitions that sees Gearbox Studios, Aspyr Media, and Easybrain merging with the company.

Of the three, the deal for Borderlands developer Gearbox Entertainment is the most high profile one, with $1.3 billion being put up for the acquisition. The 550-employee strong workforce of Gearbox's two internal studios are a part of the deal and Randy Pitchford will continue to lead the company.

Aside from Borderlands, Gearbox is also known for its Brothers in Arms series as well as for being a publishing label for games such as Godfall, We Happy Few, and Risk of Rain 2. "The feeling at Gearbox is that we are just getting started and this transaction is not merely a stimulant for the talent of our employee-owned company, but a propellant for the exciting future we have planned," added Pitchford.

Embracer Group also announced the acquisition of Easybrain today, a mobile game maker based in Cyprus for $640 million. Easybrain is responsible for advertising-based puzzle and logic mobile games, and it touts 12 million daily users across its live service titles as well as 750 million total installs.

Lastly, Aspyr Media is joining Embracer Group through its subsidiary Saber Interactive. The Texas-based company is being acquired for $100 million, with an additional $350 million available as part of the deal if Aspyr meets certain targets.

Primarily known for being a company dedicated to porting high-profile games like the Civilization series to macOS, Aspyr is now a developer and a publisher touting 140 staff members. The company will operate independently under the Saber Interactive label, with its founders Michael Rogers and Ted Staloch remaining as the heads.

"We have been in the games industry for two and a half decades, but it feels like we are just getting started. We look forward to exploring opportunities to collaborate with other entrepreneurs within the wider Embracer Group to bring celebrated games to our fellow gamers around the world" added Michael Rogers, Aspyr co-founder and CEO.

Embracer Group has been on a studio buying spree for quite a while now. Previous deals have brought in Metro series maker 4A Games, Wreckfest's Bugbear Entertainment, Satisfactory studio Coffee Stain, alongside others like Gunfire (Darksiders), Volition (Saints Row), and Warhorse (Kingdom Come).