Embracer Group Reportedly Looking To Sell Borderlands Dev Gearbox Entertainment

Can see a number of their studios sold or closed down over the coming weeks/months. Gearbox doesn’t really have much going for it outside Borderlands so was always a weird decision to purchase.

Should have done the same with Volition and its IPs.

Would this include Gearbox’s IPs…?

I love Borderlands and I hope it’s not dead.

Apparently Embracer is awful at running studios, they always seem to run them into the ground. Gearbox was once one of the best names in the business, now they're a mere shadow of their former selves.

Geez...what the heck has Embracer Group been doing all this time? Squandering themselves it seems like.

And shutting down Volition is biggest misstep they could ever do. They could've sold the group if they wanted to.

Maybe they shouldn't have bought them in the first place if this is what they were going to do!

Whoever buys Gearbox would probably also get the Duke Nukem IP as well.

This whole Embracer group snapping up studios has all gone abit pear shaped hasnt it?

@syrupdash I think the IP's is the only thing that would make the acquisition worthwhile for anyone. If Duke Nukem is included in this deal, I could see someone going for it.

With BL3 coming out, I really need to get back to trying the other 3 on switch. I only partially played 1 and that's it.

Embracer encompass everything wrong with the industry. Copious amounts of money playing with people’s livelihoods. Now they couldn’t get their payout from the Saudis they’re panicking.

Happens when you go on a billionaire shopping spree. Sadly enough, I am guessing this potential buyer is Microsoft, which is not any better.

ionly follow these things casually, but it seems to me Embracer Group has too much money and too little sense. maybe i am wrong, but it feels like they have a serious mess in their structure.

That sucks, hopefully someone picks up gearbox, they had some good hits like Borderlands and Brothers in Arms. They definitely have potential to do more just need the right company.

Buy the studio, suck it dry, write off the losses, wash the loot, sell what’s left of it - rinse and repeat. It’s the corporate way.

inb4 Microsoft buys them

@JayJ Gearbox took a downward turn well before Embracer had got their hands on the studio. Hello Aliens: Colonial Marines.

@JayJ

"If Duke Nukem is included in this deal, I could see someone going for it."

Very doubtful, as much as I would love to see him back in action with his parodic pseudo badassery I just don't think any studio is willing to bring him back after one of the most anticipated failure that was Duke Nukem Forever. And I know that the World Tour expansion episode for Duke Nukem 3D happened after that and it did okay, but in todays political climate taking everything at face value with no concept of parody and satire, the critical backlash/negative publicity would be undesirable...

I hope Nintendo buys them and just had them merge with Retro Studio to make more Metroid Prime and Duke Nukem games. Heck maybe the Duke and Samus could have a crossover title at one point. That'll be something interesting.

This is not badass at all.

The cold embrace of consolidation hell! This was always going to happen the Embracers of the industry were always going to implode and be used to strengthen the growing formations of the industry being reduced to a few mega corporations.

@Paraka MS is most certainly better than Embracer.

MS won't be buying any studios any time soon. They have to let governing bodies forget the lawsuits. they will be back but not soon.

@DanijoEX-the-Pierrot I don't know how interested someone could be in buying the studio that released two flops back to back.

@smithyo The actual problem seem to be that Embrace group actually has no that much money yet they do have too little sense. They are getting rid of studios because Saudi group wasn't willing to give her money.

@JayJ @JayJ Embrace group is not to blame for the downfall of Gearbox, they literally only owned the studio for like 2 years XD

@Cashews - I don't think making Game Pass the only refuge to play games a better scenario. Especially when you consider that GP will most certainly be the first thing X-Box moves onto the cloud based gaming they're doing.

And if retroactively changing things from the developer end, as we have seen with Skull Girls in recent memory, or any MMO since their peak, imagine not having a say about what Microsoft does to games you don't even own the rights to play.

At least with Embracer it was fundamentally third party, and possible for ports to more than one system. Microsoft can reneg at any time how far their games reach.

I don't rate Gearbox as a developer but this is still worrying for other companies owned by Embracer group.

@Paraka MS is so far away from having a monopoly on anything - I really don't get why people think they win if they buy a company. MS is getting thrashed by Sony and Nintendo - they are simply trying to survive.

I was making a much more simple point. I've worked for MS in the past. They are a good company to work for. They support their employees in a number of ways. Financially and QoL. When they buy a company they stick it out for at least a bit - try multiple avenues to make it work.

Embracer gobbled up things too fast and are having a fire sale - throwing everyone out on the street to make the books look more lean or shutting down completely.

I personally really like Darksiders III by Gunfire Games (and published by THQ Nordic - a part of Embracer Group).

I'm also looking forward to Dead Island 2 (published by Deep Silver - also part of Embracer Group) not being Epic Games PC exclusive any longer.

Then there's the new Alone in the Dark game (also from Embracer Group) that has just been delayed (good thing imo - looked like it could use a bit longer in the oven).

All in all (there's also the Gothic remake - and Elex seems pretty good too from what I've played), I think Embracer Group deserves more credit than they generally get.

@Cashews - I didn't say "monopoly," did I? No, neither does Embracer.

Microsoft has a track record of not really utilizing their purchases. Rare remains one that MS actively ignored and slung its IPs on the wall til something stuck. And now Rare is just "The Pirate Studio." A similar practice Nintendo has with Retro, just with less slinging.

And just because you personally worked with MS does not imply Embracer is automatically a worse company to work for. Many major companies pull these liquidations when they fail on their investments, Bungie being a solid example.

Only reason we are taking note is because how fast Embracer launched its campaign.

@Paraka 'Microsoft has a track record of not really utilizing their purchases"

And as usual, that "track record" boils down to just Rare -_- So far, Microsoft has actually been using well their purchases. As for modern Rare, Microsoft certainly forced them to make Kinect games for a while, but now they just choose not to use their old franchise and focus on new and original ips, after all, the majority of old members left the studio years ago, even when Xbox bought the studio, key people was already gone by that time.

A lot of prestigious studios are willing to sell themselves to Microsoft because all in all, they are currently a pretty good option.

@fenlix - Rare is the prime example, it's not "boiled down." You should see a few companies they bought up BEFORE X-Box is even a thing.

"Microsoft Game Studio" is a hodge-podge of a dozen smaller studios stitched together.

Since we are talking in terms how this may effect Nintendo, I used an example most Nintendo fans relate to. That's all.

But we can go down that direction; Obsidian, Arkane are most recent other console developers. 1C Company subsidiary of the same name (made Lords of Magic) is the oldest I can remember.

Also, if I was a CEO of a corpo game conglomerate, it would make sense to make as much money as possible and sell to the highest bidder. Creatives be damned, I would have a billion dollar parachute.

Number one, I’m glad they didn’t treat Gearbox like Volition. That woulda been really tragic seeing two great studios close down back to back.

Secondly, I always like to play the “what if/who buys it” game. I could see gearbox probably going to MS, it would honestly fit the best there. But Gearbox would do well under Nintendo as well, strengthening Nintendos ability to produce different genres like fps, action, and rpgs. Part of the Gearbox studio is made up of ex-Blizzard staffers from back in Diablo 2 days, arguably the best half of those staffers.

I pray EA doesn’t acquire, as every studio they’ve acquired that I loved has gone to pot. Maxis and BioWare I’m lookin at you, I miss the greatness you once had!

Sony could opt for it, but I feel Sony is looking to strengthen their Asian studios more so than Western. Also they’d likely make it completely first party, where at least if MS/Nintendo bought there’s a chance at being multiplatform still. Def if EA did.

Not sure which other companies might be interested in purchasing them…..

@JayJ also been attributing that to pitchfords bs

Maybe the vulture from Microsoft may be hovering over them 😂😂😂

So long as the community of gamers doesn't allow Microsoft to buy yet another developer so they can continue growing their monopoly I really don't care who purchases them.

@Cashews Microsoft is buying companies to sign contracts with Nintendo and Sony to keep games multiplat. This has already been proven. Despite the fact Phil Spencer took Xbox 3rd party in 2017, he wants screens, not hardware sales, and has been hilariously upfront about these facts. Xbox hasn't had an exclusive since 2015, every single game they release is multiplatform, this is undeniable, and they intend to keep it that way by adding more screens. However, they're wanting to have Nintendo and Sony sign contracts to receive these games moving forward. Microsoft controls these licenses, this is a monopoly and Phil's been transparent about it since day 1. Once you see the Xbox logo on nearly every major game published across every platform you might actually begin to wrap your fragile little brain around it, but by then it'll be too late to save the industry.

Peasants who defend the worst company in gaming, Microsoft, really tuck me off. They've done nothing but make gaming worse since 2002, fact.

@Paraka
But Obsidian has been doing really well under Xbox umbrella, they are better than even actualy, and Arkane has just been working as usual.

Also, before buying Bethesda, they mosty were seeking for smaller studios(Obsidian, Double Fine, Ninja Theory, Compulsion Games) and they gladly sold the companies to Microsoft, it was not a matter of greedy CEOs.

If future games are anything like BL3 and TT, please no more Borderlands.

@RobynAlecksys In a world where Sony is getting aggressive about pushing live services and jacking up the prices for their services while Nintendo is still using outdated mobile hardware exclusively, I would hardly call Xbox the worst thing to happen to gaming these days. If anything Microsoft is one of the few things keeping it from being a total joke with Sony just having a monopoly on home consoles, which would absolutely ruin the industry seeing how anti-consumer they have become lately.

@fenlix - Dude, selling is almost always a matter of money. That's the whole perogative of selling anything. There is other agendas underneath it, agreed, but that's never a driving cause. No one ever sold their company on the simple basis that they liked the company's logo. Even Rare, who admitted they messed up yeard later, tried getting a bid war going between MS and Nintendo. That is not driven by alternatives to money.

And this debate was never about if they should be allowed to, as buying/selling has always been and forever will be. Just if it would be good for us the consumer. You can understand something and still not like it. MS is more than likely going to trim fat as they always have before with everyone under Activision soon enough.

It's weird, honestly, how stark of acceptance these moves are based on the company. It's as if MS could buy Embracer and suddenly Embracer would just be good.

PS: Obsidian and Double-Fine are not small companies.

I'm still so bitter about what Gearbox pulled with Aliens Colonial Marines they could be sold to Albanian slave traders (like in the movie "Taken") for all I care.

Please don't let the series die. I really want a BL4...

@NintendoByNature BL1 is good, but def the weakest of the bunch. Def play for the story and background to everything. Then, even tho it released afterwards, play Pre-Sequel next, it’s short and nice, and does a lot of things right, except for end game. Save BL2 for last. There’s so much content, and that game really is nearly perfect. Only major issue is slag, which using it becomes a requirement in UVHM, and that’s annoying. But yeah, BL2 will ruin the rest of the series for you. I haven’t played BL3 lately with all its dlcs and updates, last I played was first dlc. And aside from much better skill system, the game paled in comparison to BL2 in every way. That may be different now. Can’t wait to play the complete edition on Switch

It kinda feels like Embracer Group is just a group of investors that bought the studios to sell them later and maybe make a profit without bothering with games at all.

Just a reminder Microsoft is a software company and maybe just maybe they are pushing more to software in there gaming division called Xbox 😉

@Paraka Better Microsoft than Sony. At least if Microsoft snags a company, there's a chance that at least some of their games may be released on something other than their own Xbox consoles. If Sony snatches them up, you can kiss their games goodbye unless you own and want to play them on PlayStation.

@RobynAlecksys oh, its up to "the community of gamers," is it?

@Dm9982 I'll definitely restart and go in that order at some point. Thanks for the thorough explanation

@NintendoByNature Np! Enjoy! If ya get stuck somewhere and need help, just shoot me a message on here, i should be able to pop on and help. Need to check my shift cloud saves on Switch…. Hopefully I’ve still got my characters on there but it’s been years since I’ve checked lol

@UltraZelda64 - Well, just because one thing is better than the other options, doesn't make the lesser evil option good. That's where my statement comes from.

Just not down with having legacy games accessible through services. Which, I am very confident on this, will eventually be placed on their cloud gaming service. We have seen other companies make things artificially temporary in the digital space, MS wouldn't be no stranger to that.

Microsoft has entered the chat.

The more you embrace, the more likely you are to drop stuff.

What? I'm all out of bitter Monopoly jokes by now.

So Sony will buy them, have em do a live service, then close Gearbox.
I'm psychic.