Square Enix, the famous publisher/developer known for such storied franchises as Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy, has entered into an agreement to sell three of its development studios to the Embracer Group. The news comes from two press releases issued by both parties involved in the transaction.
The $300 million dollar deal includes development studios Crystal Dynamics, Eidos Montreal, and Square Enix Montreal and the roughly 1,100 employees currently working at these studios. Over 50 IPs are also part of the transaction, including the Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Thief, and Legacy of Kain franchises. The Embracer Group’s press release specifically calls out the recently announced Tomb Raider title in development at Crystal Dynamics as one, exciting part of this deal.
Per the Embracer Group press release: “Through this acquisition, Embracer Group will augment its development capabilities specifically within the AAA segment, which will provide opportunities to accelerate organic growth.” According to the Embracer Group, the sale is expected to go through as soon as the second quarter of their 2022/2023 fiscal year, which is a window spanning July through September of this year. Once it does, the collective will grow to over 14,000 employees at 124 different game studios around the world.
Square Enix’s own announcement outlines their reasons for this sale, which revolve around refocusing their primary development concerns to better synergize their domestic and foreign studios. They also reiterate their emphasis on emerging technologies, specifically blockchain and artificial intelligence: “In addition, the Transaction enables the launch of new businesses by moving forward with investments in fields including blockchain, AI, and the cloud.”
This acquisition has the potential to shake up the games industry in a major way. Crystal Dynamics is currently working on multiple projects across the industry, including the ongoing Marvel’s Avengers title and the Initiative’s Perfect Dark reboot, but there’s no telling how this transaction will affect those arrangements. Fans have also questioned on social media whether Eidos Montreal’s critically-acclaimed Marvel’s Guardians Of The Galaxy will ever get a sequel after this deal closes.
Additionally, Square Enix appears to be using this transaction to double down on its devotion to new technologies in gaming, including the highly controversial blockchain technology. Proponents of the decentralized, data-storage tech claim that it could implement a new type of gaming dubbed “play-to-earn,” but many developers and gamers are skeptical of its benefits and potential implementation as a new source of monetization.
