Gearbox
Borderlands studio to leave Embracer Group only 3 years after its billion-dollar acquisition
Gearbox Entertainment, which was bought for 1.3 billion dollars to Embracer Group, is reportedly on the final steps of negotiation to leave said company.
Gearbox is close to leaving Embracer Group, according to what Kotaku reports. According to their sources, CEO Randy Pitchford has explained to employees that a decision has been made about the future of the studio responsible for Borderlands 3. For months, the manager has made it clear that there are three possible scenarios: remaining in Embracer, becoming independent again or becoming part of another company. The report points out that the decision was the latter, with the agreement already in the final phase of negotiations.
Randy Pitchford has not confirmed anything, but he shared the following statement: “I’m delighted that what we might be up to is interesting enough to people that you want to make a story about us for your readers. I’m honored and humbled that our company is a topic of rumor, speculation, and discussion. As always, we will be thrilled to share whenever we have projects to announce or news to share as we work hard towards our mission to entertain the world.”
All this coincides with the Borderlands movie showing its first trailer. Embracer Group bought Gearbox Entertainment for $1.3 billion in 2021.
Is Star Wars KOTOR Remake studio following the same path?
The fate of the Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic Remake seems uncertain. And it seemed that way for many months when information about certain development problems began to emerge. The title was in the hands of Aspyr, responsible for some ports of classic games in the saga, but neither Lucasfilm Games nor Embracer Group were happy with the conceptual demo, so it was decided to replace the studio with Saber Interactive. According to Bloomberg, the conglomerate, immersed in a workforce reduction process, is near to closing an agreement to sell it for $500 million.
Saber will become a private company with 3,500 employees, according to a source consulted by Bloomberg who asked not to be identified. The developer intends to continue working on Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake, indicating that the project is still alive and ongoing.
The studio developed World War Z, with their next title being Expeditions: A Mudrunner Game, which will be released on March 5. They are also bringing Space Marine 2, Jurassic Park: Survival, Heading Out, and John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando throughout 2024, if there are no last-minute delays. The company has been in charge of the ports of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt on Nintendo Switch and current generation consoles.