Even before 2021, Embracer Group had an important place in the game industry. As the parent company of everything from THQ Nordic to Koch Media, Embracer has a stake in a broad slice of game development. Even so, it's decided to vastly increase its influence this year. Embracer has been buying up all kinds of companies, from Borderlands creator Gearbox to rising star Ghost Ship Games of Deep Rock Galactic fame. December 2021 marked another wave of acquisitions, including one that sent waves through the entertainment history. Dark Horse Media is now an operating division within Embracer Group.
That means, of course, that Embracer Group has access to Dark Horse Comics, a major influence in the comic industry. Dark Horse is responsible for publishing a long line of licensed comics for IPs like Star Wars, Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and many more alongside influential original comics. With Embracer holding onto Dark Horse now, it seems likely that game adaptations of major Dark Horse IPs are on the horizon. Dark Horse Media already showed an interest in doing so when it opened Dark Horse Games a few months ago, but with the backing of Embracer, it's more likely than ever that some of Dark Horse's most famous comics will come to game consoles soon.
Hellboy
Arguably the most obvious candidate for a new game adaptation is Hellboy. Mike Mignola's Hellboy series, telling the story of a Cambion summoned to Earth by Nazi occultists as an infant, has been a beloved comic series since it premiered in the 1990s. Its multiple movie adaptations, both live-action and animated, speak to its cultural capital. Considering the titular Hellboy's broad roster of abilities, from his supernatural strength and endurance to his skills as a paranormal investigator, a new Hellboy game seems like a great way to celebrate Dark Horse's acquisition by Embracer.
Maybe Dark Horse Games could create an action-adventure title that takes notes from Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio's Judgment games, regularly switching off between investigation and action during Hellboy's many missions under the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense.
The Umbrella Academy
The Umbrella Academy is another IP ripe for a video game adaptation. It may be much younger than Hellboy, but Gerard Way's dysfunctional superhero family has gained a lot of traction in recent years, thanks in part to the Netflix adaptation of the comic. While there's an Umbrella Academy card game out there, it'd be great to see a video game set in this world as well. The Hargreeves siblings' diverse roster of powers would lend themselves well to a blend of genres, with players switching off between characters to approach different situations in unique ways. While Luther and Diego lend themselves well to more combat-oriented segments, other characters like Five could focus on more puzzle-oriented or NPC interaction focused segments, also dividing themselves up like Judgment while spotlighting character strengths.
Usagi Yojimbo
One more series worthy of a new video game is Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo, in which the rabbit ronin Miyamoto Usagi travels the world, ending up in all kinds of situations and conflicts along the way as he works as a bodyguard for various people. Usagi Yojimbo has earned a lot of recognition for its inspiration and basis in real Japanese history and mythology; Usagi himself is inspired by famed 17th century swordsman Miyamoto Musashi. There's been game adaptations of Usagi Yojimbo before, but it'd be great to see a big budget open-world action game starring Usagi anyhow. It's not hard to imagine a Usagi Yojimbo game that resembles Ghost of Tsushima, blending Japanese culture and history with original characters and storytelling. If Embracer plans on funding some Dark Horse games in the coming years, then it'd be great to see an adaptation of Usagi Yojimbo.