Embracer Group Acquires Crystal Dynamics, Eidos Montréal and Tomb Raider IPs

In a surprise New Year's letter, Square Enix president Yosuke Matsuda revealed his interest for blockchain and NFTs earlier this year. His intention of pushing a "play to earn" concept was not taken positively and drew serious fan-criticism.

In an interview earlier, Matsuda stated that their Japanese studios shouldn't try making games for western players. Today, Square Enix announces to sell a part of their western development and games to Embracer Group for $300 million.

Swedish company Embracer Group recently agreed to a deal of acquiring a large part of Square Enix's western studios including Crystal Dynamics, Eidos Montréal and a catalogue of titles like Deus Ex, Legacy of Kain, Thief and Tomb Raider.

Embracer Group will get their hands on more than 50 back catalogue games that adds Square's recent Marvel games like Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy but they are subject to license holder's agreement, according to press release.

Square Enix will receive a cash and debt free $300 million as total purchase price, which will be paid in full at closing and Embracer Group is expected to close this buyout on second quarter of this financial year, between July and September.

Crystal Dynamics recently announced working on next Tomb Raider game, using Unreal Engine 5. It was confirmed at franchise's 25th anniversary celebration that Lara Croft's new adventure will unite original timeline and rebooted trilogy.

Embracer CEO and co-founder, Lars Wingefors have shared his excitement to latest acquisition as they are already discussing future plans. Embracer has made 62 acquisitions since 2020 for a cost of $8.1 billion excluding Square Enix's deal.

Square Enix claims that Embracer deal will help them launch new businesses with investments in fields like AI, blockchain and cloud. Their overseas studios will continue publishing franchises such as Just Cause, Life is Strange and Outriders.