Redfall will receive no further updates, as Microsoft “ends all development” on the game.
23.04.2024 - 08:29 / rockpapershotgun.com / Lars Wingefors
Famed mass-layoff-manufacturing corporation Embracer Group are dividing into three companies, which will be listed separately on Sweden’s stock exchange. Those companies are: Asmodee Group, which comprises Embracer’s tabletop games biz; Coffee Stain & Friends, an evolution of the existing Coffee Stain publisher, who will pursue "a dual focus on indie and A/AA premium and free-to-play games for PC/console and mobile"; and Middle-earth Enterprises & Friends, “a creative powerhouse in AAA game development and publishing for PC and console, as well as the stewards of The Lord of the Rings and Tomb Raider intellectual properties, among many others”.
After writing roughly 100,000 posts about Embracer’s butchering of vast swathes of the games industry, this is surely my chance to raise a cheer and celebrate the conglomerate’s unglomming with a cool glass of turnip juice, but it is Monday, the man next door is shouting again, and I am tired - so tired that only ill-suited Simpsons references come to mind.
Besides, I’m not sure how much of this is Embracer “breaking up” versus Embracer moving the pieces around. Even as Embracer trisect themselves, the investment firm run by CEO and cofounder Lars Wingefors will keep their current holdings within the group - “approximately 20% of capital and 40% of votes” – and will form “a new long-term ownership structure” so as to “remain a long-term, active, committed and supportive owner of all three entities."
The announcement release frames the decision as the result of "a careful and thorough review" in the wake of Embracer's massive cost-cutting enterprise over the past year. It offers the following investorspeak breakdown of the arguments for dividing the pie:
- The entities will have sufficient scale, coupled with clearer operational strategies and financial profiles that enable simplified equity stories to attract a larger pool of investors. Current shareholders can freely decide on their capital allocation between the three entities.
- Each entity will be able to fully utilize its own balance sheet, its own set of financial targets and optimal financing structure and capital allocation strategy that enable their growth ambitions.
- The new structure enables the best possible greenlighting models, portfolios and go-to-market strategies for indie games as well as AAA games through two separate, more focused entities.
- Ongoing and future collaboration around IPs, companies and people will still be enabled and encouraged across the entities on market terms.
I imagine the unwritten fifth bulletpoint here is:
- We have spent around a year axing jobs, closing studios like Volition and cancelling projects like the new Deus Ex game after piling up mahoosive
Redfall will receive no further updates, as Microsoft “ends all development” on the game.
If you haven’t heard of the Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game (MESGB) from Games Workshop you are missing out on the most thematic well-written rule system in their entire line up! Those of you who know me, know that I am mainly an Age of Sigmar player who dabbles in 40k, but MESBG is truly a hidden gem amongst the Games Workshop lineup. While being incredibly balanced the game truly captures the thematic nature of the movies and the extended Tolkien universe.
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Following the collapse of a «verbal agreement» reportedly worth $2 billion with the Saudi-funded Savvy Games, Embracer Group entered into a brutal nine-month restructuring programme that resulted in the loss of some 1,400 employees and the cancellation of dozens of unannounced games. CEO Lars Wingefors, whose actions were recently defended by Saber Interactive CEO Matthew Karch («give Lars a break»), in a new interview, says: «As a leader and an owner, sometimes you need to take the blame.»
The CEO of troubled Swedish games firm Embracer Group, Lars Wingefors, has admitted that he is deserving of criticism for the current state of his company.
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Fallout London's developer, Team FOLON, was supposed to be celebrating the long-anticipated launch of its fan game today. However, with Fallout 4's current-gen update just days away from going live, that isn't possible, and the game has been pushed back until fixes are made.
Embracer Group has announced its intention to transform into three standalone publicly listed entities: Asmodee Group, Coffee Stain & Friends, and Middle-earth Enterprises & Friends.