Since early 2020, Gearbox Software's parent company Embracer has been ramping up its acquisitions across the board. During that period Embracer has brought 62 acquisitions under its umbrella. In a recent interview, the company's CEO Lars Wingefors states that Embracer Group hopes to continue to acquire more game companies in the future.
Over the course of its acquisition spree, Embracer has racked up a total cost of $8.1 billion for the 62 companies. Today, it has become Europe's biggest gaming company and claims ownership of a number of renowned studios such as THQ Nordic, Koch Media, and Witcher 3 port developer Saber Interactive, among others. Additionally, Embracer also bought Tiny Tina's Wonderlands developer, Gearbox Software, for $1.4 billion back in 2021. According to Wingefors, the company is actively looking to expand even further.
With over 150 games currently in development, Embracer's ambitions also include investing in free-to-play games, which have been growing in popularity in recent years. Wingefors stated that the company is keen on extending its footprint in markets like the UK, the US, Poland, France, and China. Though he also points out that Embracer doesn't want to depend on a few hit products. As Wingefors puts it, "If you can make one game, you have a big business risk but if you make 200 games, like we do, the business risk is less."
As of now, Embracer's market value stands at $9.9 billion with 110 internal game development studios and 10 operating groups under its belt. But video game companies aren't Embracer's only interest. Back in December 2021, Embracer acquired French board game company Asmodee for €2.75 billion (≈$2.98 billion), its largest purchase to date. More recently, Embracer bought US comic book publisher Dark Horse Media.
The video game industry has been experiencing a noticeable increase in large-scale acquisitions. One of the biggest on the list is Microsoft's purchase of Activision Blizzard for a whopping $68.7 billion, following up its previous acquisition of Bethesda. A few months back, Sony announced that it was buying Destiny 2 creator Bungie for $3.8 billion. Now there are even rumors of more notable Sony acquisitions on the way. As these large game companies look to consolidate and grow their market share in the industry, many raise concerns over the industry's future, including the likes of US senators. It's unclear how this will play out for Embracer as it hopes to continue its spending spree. Though Embracer's recent acquisitions indicate that more interesting buyouts could possibly be on the way.
Source: Financial Times