Crystal Dynamics and Eidos, developers of Tomb Raider, Marvel's Avengers, Deus Ex & many more games, were just bought by the biggest company you never heard of.
This is a bit of a shocker, so sit down and hold onto something. I mean it. This is not clickbait. Crystal Dynamics and Eidos Montreal were just acquired. And they were bought by someone huge and no, you probably haven't heard of them. Let's check out what's going on here.
Eidos and Crystal Dynamics Just Got "Embraced"
Eidos Montreal and Crystal Dynamics have been bought by Embracer Group, a huge company from Sweden which now owns around 80 video game studios and acquired tons of companies in the industry in the last years. And you probably never heard of them before, right? Well, remember the name. Honestly, they own so much stuff. Do you remember Gearbox? Embraced. THQ Nordic? Embraced. Koch Media? Guess...
Now, Eidos and Crystal Dynamics are getting the same treatment. They are owned by Square Enix, who will part ways with two of their last western studios for a whopping USD$300 million. That is a lot of money, right? Well... yes, of course. But Embracer actually got a steal on their hands. After all, they spent 1.2 BILLION on Gearbox. Gearbox! They only have Borderlands!
Just to recap what the Embracer Group gets with this deal:
- The studios Crystal Dynamics, Eidos Montreal and Square Enix Montreal, with over 1100 employees.
- The “catalogue of IPs” owned and/or worked on by those studios, including Deus Ex, Tomb Raider, Thief, Legacy of Kain and “the continued sales and operations of the studios’ more than 50 back-catalogue games”
Now, if you're worried about these franchises: don't be. You can think of big conglomerates whatever you want, but the studios under Embracer generally have done well in recent years, especially in preserving their old, valuable IPs. And that's exactly what they promise to do with their new acquisitions, according to the press release:
The acquisition brings a compelling pipeline of new installments from beloved franchises and original IPs, including a new Tomb Raider game. The acquisition builds on Embracer’s mission of creating a leading independent global gaming and entertainment ecosystem. Embracer has been particularly impressed by the studios’ rich portfolio of original IP, housing brands with proven global potential such as Tomb Raider and Deus Ex, as well as demonstrating the ability to create AAA games with large and growing fan bases. There are compelling opportunities to organically grow the studios to maximize their commercial opportunities.
So, that sounds pretty good, right? Square Enix have not always been the best stewards of these beloved franchises, rewarding cool games and good performances with negative press releases and year-long silence towards the fans. The most recent Tomb Raider games were super cool, and there's always room for more Deus Ex. So let's hope we get new games in those franchises soon.