The Embracer Group contract disaster continues to generate destructive waves all over the gaming industry, and now it’s landing at our doorstep, as the Swedish megacorp is apparently trying to sell off Gearbox and its MMOs.
As first reported by Reuters, Embracer is “considering options” and working with advisors to “explore a sale” of Gearbox Entertainment, which is very much relevant to our interests here in the MMORPG genre as Gearbox is the unit that bought out Perfect World Entertainment less than two years ago at the end of 2021, meaning it owns not just the PWE publishing outfit but also all of Cryptic and its MMOs – most notably, Neverwinter, Star Trek Online, and Champions Online, which have been consistent revenue drivers. Embracer spent $125M on the PWE/Cryptic purchase following the implosion of Magic Legends.
Reuters sources say the company is “receiving interest from third parties” on this possible sale – largely “international gaming groups,” though it’s far from a sure thing. The company’s stock is up slightly this morning on the news.
As readers will recall, back in May Embracer’s stock took a massive nose dive following the collapse of a $2B business deal that turned out to have been with Saudi Arabia’s Savvy Games. By June, the company had announced a major restructure with mass layoffs and studio closures that have continued into fall.
