Embracer Group’s buying spree continues, as the company has announced that it has acquired four new studios today! Tripwire Interactive, Limited Run Games, Tuxedo Labs, and Singtrix!
Here are the details straight from the press releases sent out!
Embracer Group Tripwire Acquisition:
Embracer Group AB (”Embracer”), through its wholly owned subsidiary Saber Interactive[1], has entered into an agreement to acquire 100 percent of the shares of award-winning US developer and publisher Tripwire Interactive from its four current owners. Tripwire Interactive is well-known for the Killing Floor and Rising Storm series and their recent best-seller Maneater, as well as their publishing division Tripwire Presents.
Tripwire will be part of the Saber Interactive (Evil Dead: The Game) operative group. As for the manpower, Tripwire co-founder and CEO Alan Wilson will stay on to run Tripwire along with co-founder and Lead Combat Designer Bill Munk, Design Director David Hensley. Another co-founder, John Gibson, will be departing the company.
The acquisition will include the four franchises from Tripwire including Maneater, Killing Floor, Rising Storm, and Red Orchestra. The press release also states that Tripwire is also developing an “exciting AAA” title, which will also be included in the buyout.
No details regarding the amount has been shared outside of Embracer stating that the terms and conditions for the acquisition “are in line with previous Embracer transactions.”
Embracer Group Limited Run Games Acquisition:
Embracer Group AB (”Embracer”), through its wholly owned subsidiary Freemode[1] has entered into an agreement to acquire Limited Run Games, Inc. (“Limited Run”) from its founders Josh Fairhurst and Douglas Bogart. Limited Run is a global leading collector-focused publisher of physical video games with a strong brand, established direct-to-consumer channels, and owns the development technology Carbon Engine that ports retro games to modern platforms.
Part of the acquisition is Limited Run Games’ “Carbon Engine,” which is an internally developed tech that allows legacy content and retro games to be “effortlessly put out in highly accurate, emulation-based ports for modern platforms.”
Limited Run will operate as an independent subsidiary with Josh Fairhurst (CEO) and Douglas Bogart (COO) continuing to lead the company under the new formed operative group “Embracer Freemode.”
Same as Tripwire, no specific terms regarding the acquisition was shared due to “commercial reasons.” But the terms and conditions for the acquisition are in line with previous Embracer transactions.
Embracer Group Tuxedo Labs Acquisition:
Embracer Group AB (”Embracer”), through its wholly owned subsidiary Saber Interactive[1], has acquired 100 percent of the shares of Swedish developer Tuxedo Labs. Tuxedo Labs is best known for creating the hit voxel-based destruction PC game Teardown. Embracer adds Dennis Gustafsson, Tuxedo Labs’ founder and CTO, who is a highly technical visionary with a specialty in physics, and his team of 5.
Tuxedo Labs will be part of the Saber Interactive operative group, which further strengthens Saber’s presence in Sweden. Tuxedo Labs has six team members, with the studio’s first title “Teardown” released officially on Steam this April 2022 (after being in Early Access for two years) and has since sold over a million copies on the platform.
Same as with the other two, no specific terms regarding the transaction was disclosed due to commercial reasons.
Embrace Group Singtrix Acquisition:
Embracer Group AB (”Embracer”), through its wholly owned subsidiary Freemode[1], has entered into an agreement to acquire Singtrix LLC (“Singtrix”) from its founders.
Singtrix will be part of Embracer Freemode. Singtrix, based in Los Angeles, is a creator of vocal processing effects technology for karaoke, gaming and entertainment. The studio has a 25-year history of developing music games, and is the first to patent the core technology behind the Guitar Hero franchise.
Singtrix creator and CEO John Devecka alongside co-founders Al Roque and Eric Berkowitz, plans to bring the “next pop culture musical experience to the world.”
Embracer expects Singtrix to expand its vocal technology platform into a broad range of new music games, streaming and mobile franchise.
Same as with the other studio acquisitions, no specific terms were disclosed due to commercial reasons.
Whew! That’s a lot! Don’t forget, just this May, Embracer Group announced that the company was acquiring Crystal Dynamics, Eidos Montreal, Square Enix Montreal alongside various IPs (including the Tomb Raider property). When Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors said that their acquisition plans were not finished, he wasn’t kidding.
Embracer Group also owns THQ Nordic, which will be present with a full slate of games at this month’s gamescom event.