Acquiring the likes of Deep Silver, 4A Games, and THQ Nordic, video game holdings company Embracer Group may not be a household name just yet, but the portfolio of studios and publishers it owns definitely are. One of its most recent acquisitions only cemented that sentiment, with the company forking out $1.3 billion to bring Borderlands developer Gearbox into the fold.
It seems the company isn't done making huge deals with some of the industry's biggest studios, with Embracer Group revealing via a financial report that it's currently in "late-stage talks" to acquire more than 20 gaming companies. For those wondering where Embracer will get the money for such a significant number of purchases, it reveals it's set aside SEK 7.6 billion (roughly $914 million) to fund the potential acquisitions.
As for the studios that will be included, the report doesn't divulge any further details regarding who exactly the company has been in talks with. However, it does reveal that over 150 companies have been approached about potentially joining the group, with Embracer specifying that some of these parties were "larger companies that could form additional operating groups." In short, it sounds like acquisitions on the scale of THQ Nordic or Deep Silver could be on the horizon. Of course, it's worth noting that nothing is set in stone just yet, with Embracer specifying that it won't "rush into closing a transaction before it is ready" and that "quality comes first."
For those who aren't aware of Embracer's current plans, the company revealed back in February that it has 150 games in production across a wealth of studios. Some of the games included are Biomutant, a Metro sequel, a new Saints Row game, Dead Island 2, and a follow-up to the Timesplitters franchise, which was announced via Deep Silver's Twitter account earlier today.
Alongside the overwhelming number of ongoing projects, Embracer Group is also assembling a video game archive at its headquarters in Varmland, where it hopes to amass a significant video game collection that can eventually be showcased to other enthusiasts via traveling exhibits or online shows. The archive had welcomed 50,000 pieces back in February, with Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors promising to reveal more about the project in the coming years.
The group definitely has ambitious ideas, whether that's acquiring some of gaming's biggest developers or creating a sprawling collection of historic video games. The report claims that Embracer's "acquisitions will be announced in due course when they occur," so those interested in seeing which companies join the group likely won't have to wait long for an answer.
Source: Embracer Group