The Name “Embracer Group” Is No More, But Don’t Say You Didn’t See It Coming

Corporate greed and general apathy have become a lot more prominent in the gaming industry now than they were in the past. The most extreme example of this is Embracer Group, a name you’d be well familiar with. This misguided conglomerate has inflicted long-lasting damage on the gaming industry. A foolish and illogical mission from the start, the massive company is now at death’s door, with no one but itself to blame.

The Name “Embracer Group” Is Fading Soon

Before going into what went wrong, let me tell you how it all came to an end. The malpractice and idiotic decisions have finally caught up to the company. Embracer Group has decided to split into three distinct companies.

The decision came a few days ago in an official statement. It entailed how the current structure of the company was not suitable for the business practices, and how Embracer would be divided into three separate units. This massive distribution of IPs and studios will happen slowly over two years.

These three entities are Asmodee Group, Coffee Stain & Friends, and Middle-earth Enterprises & Friends (a silly naming choice if you ask me). Middle-earth Enterprises includes subsidiaries like Crystal Dynamics and Dambuster Studios with IPs including Lord of the Rings, Deus Ex, Tomb Raider, and more.

Embracer Group is splitting up into three separate companies.

Middle-earth Enterprises & Friends will be the home of Crystal Dynamics, Eidos Montreal, 4A Games, Lord of the Rings IP, and more.

• Middle Earth & Friends – AAA game development
• Coffee Stain & Friends – Indie… pic.twitter.com/1kVWxhWSM5

— Kami (@Okami13_) April 22, 2024

Coffee Stain includes the namesake itself, and THQ Nordic, and their lineup includes but is not limited to Darksiders, Valheim, and Neverwinter. The last is Asmodee, which is a well-known tabletop and board games developer.

Who Didn’t See It Coming?

Now for my question. Tell me you didn’t see all this crumbling down when you witnessed the kind of stunts Embracer Group was pulling not too long ago. Consolidation in industries is already a problematic concept, but Embracer took it to the extreme, so much so that the collapse was inevitable.

Has any single company done more damage than Embracer Group to the gaming industry?
byu/TenOunceCan ingaming

I mean, you’re purchasing studios and IPs like there’s no tomorrow, with nothing to show for all these purchases, it was bound to come crashing. No matter how much money you have, if you don’t secure an income source and keep on spending it recklessly, you’ll eventually run out.

I’ll admit that when Embracer took in abandoned stuff, I was happy that some of these gems might get revived, but an ominous worry soon replaced happiness. Embracer Group didn’t create a particularly hit game, yet the buying continued.

I always wondered how the company would sustain itself if this continued. Guess I know now, it won’t.

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byu/one999 from discussion
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Embracer Group Treated IPs As Nothing More Than A Product

Embracer Group is a perfect example of corporate greed run amok and the destruction it leaves in its wake. Rather than caring for the games and studios it acquired, the giant continued to crave for more. For Embracer Group, it wasn’t games and companies it was acquiring, it was a means to roll in as much cash as possible. 

Forget making games and establishing the franchises we acquired, let’s keep on purchasing more to make a profit off them later. It only saw these as an opportunity, nothing more.

What’s the deal with Embracer buying and then shutting down video game studios?
byu/baekgudoggo inOutOfTheLoop

What gave them all this confidence? We know this now. It was a 2 billion dollar deal with the Saudi Arabian Savvy Group. It was the fallback for Embracer Group. The moment that deal fell apart, it was curtains. I actually applaud the Savvy group for pulling back, Emracer’s greed knew no bounds and would’ve only wasted the investments.

When the money they were counting on disappeared, this money-making facade came crashing down.

Look At The Destruction It Caused

The collapse of the $2 billion deal was the trigger for this unsustainable domino to start falling. Embracer Group went through a massive restructuring. Laying off employees, canceling games, selling off studios, you name it. The company started cutting costs to an extreme degree.

Embracer Group is really pissing me off https://t.co/WkgWxwwTrP

— DansGaming (@Dansgaming) January 29, 2024

Embracer was responsible for a huge chunk of the industry layoffs. Now, tell me what was the fault of all the employees they laid off and the games they abandoned? 

Tomb Raider is nowhere to be seen, Deus Ex was publically murdered, and Darksiders will be another forgotten and buried game. All the creative IPs this greedy monster acquired are in the same boat. More than 30 games were canceled in a few months. Selling IPs to the Embracer group was like signing their death warrant. 

Embracer Group looks like it’s collapsing. Not to ruin the good mood, but I think we are looking at the biggest time gap between two mainline TR games at the moment.
byu/Zeldiny inTombRaider

There’s Already A Scapegoat

Now that this nasty tower of greed has come crashing down, Embracer is trying to salvage as much as it possibly can. This also includes escaping from all the massive debt and making it someone else’s problem. Yeah, you heard me right. Embracer Group has strategically placed a $900 million debt on Asmodee’s shoulder, and cut the company loose.

According to Embracer Group’s statement, Asmodee has the best chance of clearing this debt, and it was this purchase that put them under so much debt in the first place, so it’s only fair if Asmodee shoulders it. Now you tell me, does it sound fair to you?

Interesting developments for Asmodee — spun out as a free standing entity and at least being partially used to pay nearly $1 billion in debt https://t.co/L5rTPkzCN6

— Jason Matthews (@JasonDCMatthews) April 22, 2024

It wasn’t Asmodee’s fault that Embracer Group made so many ridiculous and foolish decisions. Yet why is it the sole carrier of all the blame? If you ask me, this move will do even more damage than Embracer has already done. Asmodee is a lead developer of tabletop games, and this devious step will give the genre itself a bad name.

Embracer Group Was A Blight; I’m Glad To See It Go

In conclusion, I think it won’t be wrong to say that the Embracer Group has left a permanent scar on the gaming industry. It not only destroyed the livelihood of everyone involved, but butchered thousands of IPs it acquired only to sate its greed. Now with all said and done, it’s just looking for an escape route.

It’s imperative that all this mess be made an example of. Embracer Group is everything the gaming industry should steer clear of. The damage has been done, but I never want to see any of this happen again. We love gaming, and we loved all those games it killed. As such, I’m not even sorry for Embracer Group, I firmly believe it deserved all this.