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.
02.04.2024 - 08:05 / eurogamer.net / Lars Wingefors
Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors has acknowledged it's «way too early» for the company to «start talking about» acquiring new studios.
Talking to investors – as transcribed by RPS – Wingefors said that after shedding 1300+ jobs, cancelling dozens of games, and shutting down studios like Timesplitters developer Free Radical and Saints Row dev Volition, the team's «highest focus and priority» was to «increase profitability and cashflow generation by simply making better products and games».
To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Manage cookie settings Newscast: Behind the headlines of GDC, a cautious sense of hope.Watch on YouTube«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,» Wingefors said when asked about future acquisitions.
«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," Wingefors added.
Interestingly, Embracer said the companies it has closed or divested had «negative cashflow», and what remains is «not for sale».
«We are ending the restructuring programme now, end of March, and the Gearbox restructuring process has been part of that programme. Now we are getting approached, I would say not quite daily, but on a weekly basis, by companies that would like to acquire certain assets within the group,» Wingefors explained.
«And I've been very clear that they're not for sale, because they're a very important part for the group and for the shareholders of the group going forward,» said Wingefors."
Embracer – which acquired Gearbox in just 2022 – has now entered an agreement to sell Gearbox Interactive to Take-Two for $460m.
Embracer initially purchased Gearbox for $363m in 2021. The swift sale of the studio — which had long been expected — is part of Embracer's «comprehensive restructuring programme», which began last year after the collapse of a $2bn «major strategic partnership» in May.
When this transaction is complete, Take-Two will acquire the Borderlands and Tiny Tina's Wonderlands franchises, as well as Homeworld, Risk of Rain, Brothers in Arms, and Duke Nukem. Closing is expected to be finalised in Q1 FY 24/25, ending June 2024.
Embracer will still retain a number of assets such as Lost Boys, which Gearbox acquired in 2022.
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 has defended Embracer's acquisition strategy, following its split from the Swedish conglomerate.
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."
After failing to close a $2 billion deal with Saudia Arabia’s Savvy Games Group, in June of last year, Embracer Group announced that it would be shuttering studios, cutting jobs, and cancelling games as part of a significant internal restructuring program in order to get its finances back into shape. That restructuring program is now finally over, with Gearbox Entertainment’s sale to Take-Two Interactive for $460 million seemingly being the final major step of that process.