Ghost_MH Posted September 11, 2023 Share Posted September 11, 2023 Just gonna start shedding studios, huh? Exclusive: Sweden’s Embracer weighs options for Borderlands maker Gearbox Entertainment –sources | Reuters WWW.REUTERS.COM Embracer is considering options for its U.S. game developer Gearbox Entertainment including a sale as Europe’s largest gaming company looks to shore up its... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LazyPiranha Posted September 11, 2023 Share Posted September 11, 2023 Life’s great when money is cheap and then it’s a bitch when it isn’t. Whatever happened to the borderlands movie anyway? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted September 11, 2023 Author Share Posted September 11, 2023 1 hour ago, LazyPiranha said: Life’s great when money is cheap and then it’s a bitch when it isn’t. Whatever happened to the borderlands movie anyway? Everyone's a financial genius when interest rates are ludicrously low! As for the movie, it's scheduled to release next August. The Borderlands movie comes out next year - The Verge WWW.THEVERGE.COM We still have to wait a while for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Littleronin Posted September 12, 2023 Share Posted September 12, 2023 I didn't think the movie side of Gearbox was included in the deal with Embracer. I don't have time to look it up but I could have sworn there was something about that being left out of the buyout. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Air_Delivery Posted September 12, 2023 Share Posted September 12, 2023 Saudis are so bad at investing you would think they are money laundering which of course they don't need to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted September 21, 2023 Author Share Posted September 21, 2023 Per Axios's Stephen Totilo: Quote Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors says company is seeking outside investment for some projects to avoid some layoffs. But also: "ultimatey we are making decisions to either restructure or downsize some teams and there will be a few cases of closures" Wingefors on the possible divestment of studios: Quote "There is a strong vibrant market with many, many active players--both financial sponsors and big industry players--but it’s easier to run proper processes for, I would say, more high-value assets than smaller assets" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted September 21, 2023 Author Share Posted September 21, 2023 Embracer says its ‘crazy’ outlay on platform fees exceeds its spend on game development | VGC WWW.VIDEOGAMESCHRONICLE.COM It also says a new Epic Games Store exclusivity scheme will help keep Steam on its toes… Quote Embracer Group CEO Lars Wingefors has said the company spends more on platform fees than it does on game development. In a Q&A session during Embracer’s AGM on Thursday, the executive was asked for his thoughts on the recently announced Epic First Run program. The new exclusivity scheme will allow developers of any size to claim 100% of revenue if they agree to make eligible titles exclusive to the Epic Games Store for six months. After the six months are up, the game will revert to the standard Epic Games Store revenue split of 88% for the developer and 12% for Epic Games. In comparison, Valve has traditionally taken a 30% share of game sales on Steam, although in 2018 it introduced a revenue share tier system which offers more to developers if their games meet certain sales thresholds (75%/25% on earnings beyond $10m and 80%/20% on earnings beyond $50m). “At the end of the day, I think it’s good having competition to Steam, because it puts them on their toes to deliver their best experience,” Wingefors said of Epic First Run. “Obviously, we would like to pay less fees to platforms. In reality we are paying more fees to platforms than we spend on game development every year, and if you just think about that number, it’s crazy. The notion that ANYTHING that Epic does with EGS will keep Valve/Steam on their toes is just OLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLO-worthy. No wonder the Saudis backed away from a deal with this guy. I can only imagine the wild-eyed things he must've said behind closed doors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted September 21, 2023 Share Posted September 21, 2023 If he is paying more fees to platform than he spends on game than clearly he isn’t selling a lot on EGS since it only charges 12%. I would rather have a guaranteed money than the 12% especially if you have a spotty track record for quality games. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser_Soze Posted September 22, 2023 Share Posted September 22, 2023 The Epig Store was just them saying, "hey since we have all these people playing Fortnite they will want to play other games" As it turns out, they just want to play Fortnite. So you pay a cut to sell less until you release on steam and then the steam release is for less money. Seems the smart idea is probably to release at the same time full price on both. And releasing a game on EGS's appeal is keeping valve on their toes even though they are light years ahead, huh? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperSpreader Posted September 22, 2023 Share Posted September 22, 2023 On 9/11/2023 at 7:13 PM, Air_Delivery said: Saudis are so bad at investing you would think they are money laundering which of course they don't need to. The Saudis DIDN'T invest. It's more Swedes are bad at planning without an Allen wrench. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperSpreader Posted September 22, 2023 Share Posted September 22, 2023 21 hours ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said: No wonder the Saudis backed away from a deal with this guy. I can only imagine the wild-eyed things he must've said behind closed doors. For real this guy says a lot of dumb shit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spawn_of_Apathy Posted September 22, 2023 Share Posted September 22, 2023 How are they paying more in platform fees than on game development? That sounds like they’re either really bad at negotiating platform fees, or they’re trying to make AAA games on less than an Indy game budget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted September 22, 2023 Author Share Posted September 22, 2023 3 hours ago, Spawn_of_Apathy said: How are they paying more in platform fees than on game development? You essentially nailed it with the second part of your post. If development costs are small enough and the revenue mark-up is high enough, then it's really quite feasible that the standard 30% cut that platform holders take will exceed the actual development costs. For example: Development costs: $100 million Gross revenue: $500 million Platform holder fees: $150 million ($500 million gross revenue x 30%) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crispy4000 Posted September 23, 2023 Share Posted September 23, 2023 I’m could be the outlier here, but I don’t think any of the platform holders offer a 30%-cut worthy benefit to most developers. Maybe for those that are multiplayer centric, and rely on the backend and cheat protections the platform holders create. For everyone else, it’s a necessary evil. The fact that Valve cuts the highest grossing games a sweetheart deal shows how little they care about the little guy. Console manufacturers traditionally justify it by providing devs access to the living room. But their methods of nickel and dimming their bases have gotten out of control. And indies are being offered less of that share: Weaker subscription deals have hit indie publishers, says analyst WWW.GAMESINDUSTRY.BIZ Sign up for the GI Daily here to get the biggest news straight to your inbox Smaller subscription deals and the underpe… I don’t love the EGS, but I’m not as opposed to them being a bigger player as the rest of you it seems. I don’t really care if Valve’s dominance is tested or not. But I do think alternatives where more AA and indies could succeed would be good, and GoG and itch.io just won’t cut it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spawn_of_Apathy Posted September 23, 2023 Share Posted September 23, 2023 I’ve never understood the vitriol toward developers that took the money and higher share percentage by going EGS exclusive. It’s not like a Dev/publisher taking the money and being PS or Xbox exclusive. You can play a game on EGS without needing to buy new hardware. As a long time console player, if I could have just downloaded a different launcher on my Xbox and been able to play PS and Nintendo exclusives, I’d have jumped at it. Even if they didn’t have online features as good as a native Xbox game. But some in the PC space were like “no fuck that dev. I hope they go out of business for not releasing on Steam.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser_Soze Posted September 23, 2023 Share Posted September 23, 2023 39 minutes ago, Spawn_of_Apathy said: I’ve never understood the vitriol toward developers that took the money and higher share percentage by going EGS exclusive. It’s not like a Dev/publisher taking the money and being PS or Xbox exclusive. You can play a game on EGS without needing to buy new hardware. As a long time console player, if I could have just downloaded a different launcher on my Xbox and been able to play PS and Nintendo exclusives, I’d have jumped at it. Even if they didn’t have online features as good as a native Xbox game. But some in the PC space were like “no fuck that dev. I hope they go out of business for not releasing on Steam.” Well that's why people are upset, and not necessarily at the devs, but they aren't exclusives. They are timed exclusive just like when Tomb Raider was Xbox timed exclusive and this and that back in the day, no one liked that. Now it's come full circle with Sony doing timed exclusives and no one cares. But the idea is people like to keep their steam library together, like when they had two Hitman games then they had to buy the 3rd one on Epic, that was annoying. Beyond that is the "it's just a launcher" attitude but the launcher is lacking. It didn't even have a shopping cart or wishlists for like 4 years or something. In any case, personally, I can't have it installed because other games won't run. When I tried to play Elden Ring I would just get a white screen. The fix was uninstalling the Epic Game Store off the PC and after that the game worked like a charm. I'm never installing that POS ever again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost_MH Posted September 23, 2023 Share Posted September 23, 2023 Eh, I guess I'm the odd one out that makes a point to try to buy games on EGS socially to give devs the higher cut. I have several game launchers on my PC. These PC platforms don't do nearly enough too warrant the outsized revenue cut they get. I think 30% is ridiculous, but at least Apple and Nintendo and those like them are doing more than Valve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser_Soze Posted September 23, 2023 Share Posted September 23, 2023 9 minutes ago, Ghost_MH said: Eh, I guess I'm the odd one out that makes a point to try to buy games on EGS socially to give devs the higher cut. That's all nonsense anyway. The publishers get a higher cut the devs get the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost_MH Posted September 23, 2023 Share Posted September 23, 2023 2 hours ago, Keyser_Soze said: That's all nonsense anyway. The publishers get a higher cut the devs get the same. Even the publishers deserve more of game's revenue than Valve does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crispy4000 Posted September 24, 2023 Share Posted September 24, 2023 8 hours ago, Keyser_Soze said: Well that's why people are upset, and not necessarily at the devs, but they aren't exclusives. They are timed exclusive just like when Tomb Raider was Xbox timed exclusive and this and that back in the day, no one liked that. Now it's come full circle with Sony doing timed exclusives and no one cares. It’s not “just like” console timed exclusives. In one case you download a new free launcher, in the other, you spend hundreds on another box that’s largely redundant to what you already have. Sony’s only viewed differently today for it because the terms of engagement have changed. Timed exclusives have always been rotten buisness, and will continue to be, especially on competing consoles. But it’s also a short sighted strategy that left them with egg on their face with Besthesda. They’d do ‘better’ in the current landscape to save those dollars for buying developers outright. And if their aquired studio goes sour, they can still shut them down EA or Embracer style, so that the competition still can’t have them and their IP gets locked up. Fun times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted November 6, 2023 Author Share Posted November 6, 2023 Embracer COO confirms departure following ‘rough’ year for the games giant | VGC WWW.VIDEOGAMESCHRONICLE.COM The holding company has been cutting jobs across its companies… Quote Embracer Group’s chief operating officer has confirmed his departure from the company. Egil Strunke shared the news on Monday and claimed he’d left the holding company – which owns many game developers such as Gearbox and Crystal Dynamics – last week. In June, Embracer announced the appointment of an interim COO, which would be filled by Saber Interactive boss Matthew Karch. The COO is typically the second in command, reporting to the CEO, and handles the daily business operations of a company. “Last week I left Embracer Group as COO, and it’s with mixed feelings I am parting ways this global company phenomenon, rooted in Karlstad, Sweden,” Strunke wrote on Monday. “On one hand I’m grateful for having had the chance to work with the one-of-a-kind [CEO] Lars Wingefors and all the other AMAZING colleagues (too many to mention!) which I will be sad to leave. On the other hand excited about the opportunities that lie ahead – starting and building my own company: Strunke Games.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted November 8, 2023 Author Share Posted November 8, 2023 Embracer’s TimeSplitters studio Free Radical faces closure | VGC WWW.VIDEOGAMESCHRONICLE.COM The UK-based developer was re-established just two years ago to revive the classic FPS series… Quote TimeSplitters developer Free Radical Design is at threat of being closed by owner Embracer Group, just two years after it was re-established, sources have told VGC. For the past six months Embracer has been carrying out a “restructuring program” which has already seen some game studios closed and some projects cancelled. This includes the closure of studios like Saints Row developer Volition and Campfire Cabal, while others have reportedly been put up for sale, such as Borderlands maker Gearbox. According to people close to Free Radical Design, the Nottingham, UK-based studio has been part of the evaluation and employees have now been notified that it could close. As required by UK employment law, Plaion – the Embracer division which runs Free Radical – must consult employees for a minimum of 30 days before making any redundancies, including exploring ways of avoiding them. There remains a possibility that the studio could remain open then, should Embracer receive interest from third parties interested in acquiring it. However, VGC analysis of LinkedIn and social media shows that, within just the last 24 hours, at least 15 people employed at Free Radical have already published posts saying they’re looking for work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser_Soze Posted November 8, 2023 Share Posted November 8, 2023 Although this is basically Free Radical in name only. Most of old Free Radical made Dead Island 2! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stepee Posted November 8, 2023 Share Posted November 8, 2023 28 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said: Although this is basically Free Radical in name only. Most of old Free Radical made Dead Island 2! No wonder it’s so good! Unfortunately, looks like they are a subsidiary of Deep Silver, which is also owned by Embracer. But I think it might be one of the games that actually sold well so maybe they keep them or can sell them off instead of dissolving them. I’d love another game by them where they get to start at the beginning of development. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted November 28, 2023 Author Share Posted November 28, 2023 Let's catch up on just how things are going at Embracer, shall we? Embracer: Human cost of restructure is "significant" but "necessary" WWW.GAMESINDUSTRY.BIZ Sign up for the GI Daily here to get the biggest news straight to your inbox To say it's been a rough year for the game… Quote In the wake of the results, we speak with Embracer's Phil Rogers, interim chief strategy officer and CEO of the operating group that includes Crystal Dynamics and the other Western studios previously owned by Square Enix, where Rogers worked until last year's acquisition. Rogers points to the status of the overall restructure, reiterating the financial reports' perspective that Embracer is "making good progress." Quote "I think these sort of reporting dates are good times to stand up and sort of say, you know, how do we feel we're doing against it? We feel good," he tells GamesIndustry.biz. "We feel like we're on track against our targets that we've set out. So we feel very positive about that. "We're in line with our targets on how we bring the debt down, with [operating expenses] savings and the targets for our capital expenditure, which is basically our games pipeline. And obviously we're going to readjust that games pipeline down to the run rate we talk about is SEK 5 billion ($478.4 million) going into next fiscal year. Those adjustments are very, very clear and well understood targets for us. So I think we're making good progress against that." He goes on to say that restructuring can be introspective for a company, giving great consideration to the business' goals, ambitions and, as Rogers puts it, "how we win." "We talk about how we improve our efficiency, our cash generation. How do we transform ourselves into a leaner, stronger, more focused and – critically – cash self-sufficient company? And I think these have been really good challenges for the whole business to lean into. It's got a lot of good conversations going across the business." Quote That said, Rogers recognises the human cost of this process. "There's a lot of it going around the industry at the moment of restructuring, but the downside, obviously, is the impact on people. It's something that really Embracer feels for. He continues: "It's been an agonising process to see the sort of headcount [reduction], but we know it's a necessary thing for us to hit our new and needed goals. So overall, good progress and we push on." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted November 28, 2023 Author Share Posted November 28, 2023 Layoffs hit Galaxy on Fire, Chorus developer Fishlabs - sources WWW.EUROGAMER.NET UPDATE 5.30pm UK: Today's layoffs at Fishlabs have now been publicly confirmed, following our report earlier this after… Quote Today's layoffs at Fishlabs have now been publicly confirmed, following our report earlier this afternoon. In a statement, Fishlabs parent company Plaion (itself owned by Embracer) confirmed a "restructuring" at the studio "expected to impact around 50 positions". "Despite exhaustive efforts to avoid downsizing, the lack of approval and therefore financing for the studio's unannounced project (also referred to as "Project Black") has made this step unavoidable," a spokesperson said today. "The remaining team will continue to work on the existing co-development projects in partnership with other Plaion and Embracer Group studios. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser_Soze Posted November 28, 2023 Share Posted November 28, 2023 Perhaps they should have had some introspection before they started buying all the companies 🤔 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted November 28, 2023 Author Share Posted November 28, 2023 Embracer CEO confirms TimeSplitters studio faces closure before Christmas | VGC WWW.VIDEOGAMESCHRONICLE.COM Free Radical Design staff are currently in a consultation… Quote TimeSplitters studio Free Radical Design faces closure before Christmas, Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors has privately acknowledged. VGC reported earlier this month that Free Radical was at threat of being closed just two years after it was established, as part of huge company-wide cuts at Embracer and its owned publishers. Although Embracer has yet to publicly confirm Free Radical’s position, sources told VGC that Wingefors has now acknowledged in a company email that the Nottingham, UK-based company could be closed on December 11, following the completion of a consultation process. “As we move through the consultation process and face the potential closure of Free Radical Design on 11 December 2023, I want to express my gratitude for your commitment and the remarkable work you’ve done and still keep doing,” he wrote. “This is a challenging time for all of us but especially for you, and our focus is to support you as much as we can during this transition.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted November 28, 2023 Author Share Posted November 28, 2023 12 minutes ago, Keyser_Soze said: Perhaps they should have had some introspection before they started buying all the companies 🤔 I'm going to play a bit of a devil's advocate here and suggest that the majority of the studios that were acquired would've gone under already if not for their acquisition by Embracer. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted November 28, 2023 Share Posted November 28, 2023 29 minutes ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said: I'm going to play a bit of a devil's advocate here and suggest that the majority of the studios that were acquired would've gone under already if not for their acquisition by Embracer. Which is fine to acquire if you have a sound business and good leaders that can help these studios to rebound. Not the case for Embracer. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted November 28, 2023 Author Share Posted November 28, 2023 1 minute ago, Brian said: Which is fine to acquire if you have a sound business and good leaders that can help these studios to rebound. Not the case for Embracer. No argument from me there. The only "positive" that came from the Embracer acquisition is that it might've bought developers in those acquired studios a bit of time to find new jobs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperSpreader Posted November 29, 2023 Share Posted November 29, 2023 Swedes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted December 5, 2023 Author Share Posted December 5, 2023 Insurgency Developer New World Interactive Shut Down - Insider Gaming INSIDER-GAMING.COM New World Interactive, the studio behind games Insurgency and Insurgency: Sandstorm, has been shut down by Embracer Group Quote UPDATE: Saber Interactive has provided Insider Gaming with the following statement on the news that New World Interactive is being shut down. “Saber can confirm there have been restructuring changes involving our New World Interactive subsidiary. This reorganization has unfortunately resulted in layoffs at the studio. We are working to fill existing open roles within Saber with individuals affected by these changes wherever feasible and we will be providing severance packages to those employees impacted. “Development will continue on Insurgency: Sandstorm, as well as unannounced future projects.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erpg Posted December 7, 2023 Share Posted December 7, 2023 I assume these guys just looked at the real estate market and figured leveraged buyouts were the best thing ever and had no chance of blowing back in their faces when interest rates changed. Smart folks. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted December 7, 2023 Author Share Posted December 7, 2023 2 hours ago, erpg said: I assume these guys just looked at the real estate market and figured leveraged buyouts were the best thing ever and had no chance of blowing back in their faces when interest rates changed. Smart folks. They only have US $1.4 billion in debt burden left to go! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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