The $70 release day price for standard AAA titles is both unsustainable and on the way out, claims Saber Interactive CEO Matthew Karch, via an interview with IGN reporter Rebekah Valentine.
29.03.2024 - 13:07 / videogameschronicle.com / Andy Robinson / Lars Wingefors
Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors has told investors he believes it’s “too early” for the group to start considering studio acquisitions again, following the completion of its costly restructuring.
On Friday, the company confirmed the sale of Borderlands developer Gearbox to Take-Two in a deal worth $460 million. The deal marked the end of a 9-month money-saving operation, which saw the sale or closure of many studios, the cancellation of nearly 30 games, and more than 1,300 job cuts.
Surprisingly, on the day the restructuring was completed, CEO Wingefors was asked in an investor call whether Embracer was ready to start acquiring studios again, to which he replied it was “too early” to say.
“Looking to do more [mergers and acquisitions] deals – I think it’s way too early to start talking about restarting the M&A engines again,” he said, via RPS.
“Now we are in the late phases of the consideration into the future of the group, and that’s our highest focus and priority – how we set up ourselves and structure ourselves, and utilise our assets we have within the group, and have them work together, and how we leverage them better working together, utilising different functions.
“I think that’s our focus right now, to increase profitability and cashflow generation, by simply making better products and games.”
Over the past nine months, Embracer has spun off publisher Saber Interactive into a separate group, and closed studios such as TimeSplitters developer Free Radical and Saints Row developer Volition.
According to Wingefors, this week’s Gearbox sale “marks the result of the final structured divestment process and is an important step in transforming Embracer into the future with notably lower net debt and improved free cash flow.”
He said: “Through the transaction, we lower business risk and improve profitability as we transition to becoming a leaner and more focused company.”
The $70 release day price for standard AAA titles is both unsustainable and on the way out, claims Saber Interactive CEO Matthew Karch, via an interview with IGN reporter Rebekah Valentine.
Saber Interactive CEO Matthew Karch believes the ‘$70 game’ will eventually become a thing of the past, as developers move to reduce costs and risk in an increasingly challenging AAA games market.
Saber CEO Matthew Karch has entered a no-holds barred interview with IGN about his company’s experience with Embracer Group. But what he has to say is probably going to surprise you.
Embracer is done with their long-term restructuring.
Saber Interactive founder Matthew Karch has launched a defence of his former employer Embracer Group and its CEO, Lars Wingefors.
Despite seemingly escaping the Embrace(r) of death through their sale to Take-Two at the end of last month, Gearbox Entertainment haven’t quite emerged unscathed. The studio has confirmed a number of layoffs shortly after the announcement of the sale, while clarifying that no positions related to the development of games were affected.
Gearbox Entertainment has announced an unspecified number of redundancies following its sale from Embracer last week.
Sony announced a remake of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic three years ago during the 2021 PlayStation Showcase. Since then, the trailer was delisted, it was indefinitely delayed, and it changed developers. Fears of it being cancelled have been mounting as both Disney and Embracer remain quiet, but developer Saber Interactive insists that it's still in the works and only yesterday revealed that the project is "alive and well".
The remake of Star Wars KOTOR (Knights of the Old Republic) is alive and well. That's the promise made to the countless fans of the game by Saber Interactive CEO Matthew Karch, speaking to IGN. The executive also said the studio is 'dedicated to making sure consumer expectations are exceeded', which likely hints at several years of development still needed. Indeed, Embracer Group CEO Lars Wingefors recently admitted the game needed more than a year of production.
Since its reveal at PlayStation Showcase in 2021, Star Wars: The Knights of the Old Republic Remake has had a tumultuous development history. The remake of the beloved RPG from 2003 was delayed indefinitely and changed developers in 2022, with Saber Interactive taking over from Aspyr. Last month, Saber along with other studios under its brand and its licensed IPs, was sold for $247 million by Embracer Group, creating further uncertainty around the remake project. Now, Saber has confirmed that the studio is still working on the game.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake is one of gaming's most elusive projects. Announced in 2021, the long-awaited remake has changed hands multiple times, seemingly stopped development and restarted again, and after six years of development has yet to manifest. Fortunately, we finally have a real, concrete update on what's going on. Saber Interactive is still working on it, and according to the CEO, it's "alive and well."
Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors has acknowledged it's «way too early» for the company to «start talking about» acquiring new studios.