What you need to know
- According to a report from Bloomberg, Embracer Group is selling Saber Interactive to a group of private investors for $500 million.
- Saber Interactive is a large publisher and developer, consisting of numerous studios around the world working on games like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake and Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2.
- Embracer Group continues to struggle financially, with the company laying off hundreds of workers and closing multiple studios over the past year.
One big company is breaking away away from Embracer Group.
Embracer Group is selling developer and publisher Saber Interactive to a group of private investors for $500 million, per a report from Bloomberg, The deal will see Saber Interactive become a privately owned company with around 3,500 employees in different studios around the world.
Saber Interactive, first acquired by Embracer Group for $150 million in 2020, provides support work on a large number of games, and is also the lead developer on two big upcoming titles. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is slated to launch on Sep. 9, 2024, while the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake does not currently have a release date, but is still in development according to Bloomberg. Saber Interactive took over the remake after Embracer Group took the project away from Aspyr.
When I asked Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier if the deal included every team at Saber Interactive, including subsidiaries like Metro developer 4A Games, he responded by saying it would include "most but not all" and that some of the specifics weren't clear yet.
What does this mean for Saber Interactive games?
The gaming industry is in turmoil right now, but Embracer Group in particular is slashing costs left and right, laying off hundreds of workers across studios like Eidos Montreal and closing down teams like Volition, the latter of which is now reborn as an independent team called Shapeshifter Games.
With Saber Interactive breaking away, it seems like this team will have some financial security for at least a short while. Being owned by a private group also means escaping the ever-escalating demands of public shareholders, which could alleviate some financial stress.
Analysis: A spot of good news
Obviously things can twist and turn without warning, but in the short term, I'm less worried about the future of Saber Interactive. At bare minimum, the team won't be subjected to mindless cost-cutting by Embracer Group after the latter failed to secure investment from the Saudi-owned Savvy Games group.
I'm looking forward to Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 when it launches in September, and I'll dare to hope that the Knights of the Old Republic remake actually has a small chance of launching now. It won't be anytime soon, and it's a marginal change, but right now, coming off the back of layoffs and studio closures at now only Embracer Group but also Electronic Arts, PlayStation, and many others, any good news is a serious breath of fresh air.
