Embracer Cancels Sale of Two Development Studios

Embracer has announced that the proposed sales of 4A Games and Zen Studios have been canceled and will stay with the conglomerate after all. Embracer is a Swedish video game and media holding company that was first established in 2011, taking control of IPs of bygone publishers like THQ and JoWood. The company then grew in size, to the point that it became a public company in 2019. It then began purchasing and acquiring a number of studios throughout 2023, rapidly growing further, acquiring the likes of Metro developer 4A Games and Pinball developer Zen Studios.

The momentum of the Embracer Group’s acquisitions came back to bite the conglomerate in a big way, due to the series of acquisitions making it infeasible to fund all the projects that it had under its umbrella. As such, several companies were shut down, many employees were laid off, and games were canceled. Several of these studios include the likes of Volition and Free Radical Design, with the Embracer Group restructuring itself after failing to acquire a multi-billion dollar deal with Saudi Arabia. Some of its acquired studios also had to be sold off, such as Saber Interactive for $247 million. However, it’s been reported that Embracer will be retaining two development studios from this original sale, which are the aforementioned 4A Games and Zen Studios.

In a statement released by Embracer, it was announced that the pair of development studios will be staying with the conglomerate. 4A Games and Zen Studios were originally included in the $247 million dollar deal when Embracer was selling Saber Interactive to a group of private investors under Beacon Interactive, a new company formed by Saber co-founder Matthew Karch. Due to an early repayment and divestment of assets from Saber Interactive, it helped Embracer’s cash flow, and allowed all commitments related to this transaction to be settled. “We are satisfied with the conclusion of this transaction and very glad to see the great teams and assets of 4A Games and Zen Studios remain within Embracer. They will be important building blocks in our continued journey,” said Lars Wingefors, co-founder and CEO of Embracer.

4A Games and Zen Studios to Remain With Embracer Group

The CEO also congratulated Saber Interactive on Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2‘s successful launch, thanking Matthew Karch for his contributions over the years. He also wished the best of luck to both Karch and Saber in their new ventures at Beacon Interactive. As for 4A Games, it is currently working on two AAA titles that the company is “eager” to announce as well.

Embracer is still restructuring itself after the fallout of its failed 2 billion dollar investment, having split into three separate publicly traded companies. While former Embracer acquired companies like Shiver Entertainment were bought by Nintendo, others like Alone in the Dark developer Pieces Interactive and Piranha Bytes were shuttered, with the latter being closed down as recently as June 2024.