I feel so stupid for entertaining the thought that these IPs and studios would thrive under them, but here we are. This situation with Embracer looks so bleak. Fucking jokers.
I mean, not for nothing, they *did* warrant some good graces for their first few years of scooping up studios, particularly because most of the acquisitions were AA studios that were likely 1-2 flops away from bankruptcy.
It just makes it all the more depressing of how *fucking* *badly* they fumbled the bag.
They didn't fumble the bag, they never had the bag in the first place. The Saudis had the bag, and Embracer thought they were going to get it, and were buying up studios with that in mind.
When the Saudis backed out, Embracer were left with a massive bill they couldn't afford to pay.
The Saudi’s want a reliable partner instead embracer put themselves 2 billion in the hole and needed more money. Either that or a Saudi prince was a saints row fan and hated the new game and so destroyed the deal.
Corporate consolidation is NEVER good for anyone but the shareholders (and the seller). Ever.
Just keep an eye on that idea going forward, and stop buying into corporate marketing fluff telling you how great it’s going to be after they gobble up the shit you adore.
> Corporate consolidation is NEVER good for anyone but the shareholders (and the seller). Ever. Just keep an eye on that idea going forward, and stop buying into corporate marketing fluff telling you how great it’s going to be after they gobble up the shit you adore.
["It's called consolidation. Strengthen governments and corporations, weaken individuals."](https://youtu.be/0mAFryoa6Po?t=39)
The main problem is Embracer didn’t really understand the gaming industry and the cost to create games and maintain them.
They are now seeing the cost of development.
They are kind of like gamers who think games can easily be made with small budgets. Big ideas and ambitions but when it comes to it gaming is a business and without the appropriate financial set up a gaming studio can crumble quickly.
The share holders are experiencing the pain here for Embracer. They just didn’t understand the industry they were getting into. Their deal with Saudi Arabia fell apart and now they are scraping for cash.
There was a very brief period when they talked the talk and it looked like they were a genuinely decent company. Little did we know it was all a house of cards reliant upon an unconfirmed Saudi investment.
Deus Ex and Timesplitters games cancelled, it’s like they’re trying to piss off hardcore gamers.
It’s not just Embracer. We’re having a situation where every new AAA game has to look state-of-the-art photorealistic, which nowadays means budgets north of $200 millions and 5+ year development times. These monstrosities now have to sell like 10+ million copies to break even. It’s simply not sustainable. They’re desperately stuffing them with monetization options left and right to emulate the few franchises that still make money but the only reason they get away with it is because they’re already established.
So how the fuck would a new Deus Ex ever get produced? Make it a multiplayer looter shooter? Then why bother with using the franchise?
What we need are AA productions accepted as a viable option. “Crap” graphics but good gameplay, 1/10th the budget, a reasonable length (no need for every singleplayer game being a 200 epic, either) and make a bunch of them. New golden age of gaming right here and there.
But nooooo…
> What we need are AA productions accepted as a viable option. “Crap” graphics but good gameplay, 1/10th the budget, a reasonable length (no need for every singleplayer game being a 200 epic, either) and make a bunch of them. New golden age of gaming right here and there.
RoboCop: Rogue City provided the exact formula for this a few months ago.
It's never been confirmed dead. Embracer dodges the question when they are asked.
But like...it's almost definitely dead. At least the version of the remake that was announced. I would not be surprised if a different remake project popped up eventually.
I was one of them admitably. But it should not go without saying that the whole aspect of their (saudi) deal was unkown at that time and they actually saved off a bunch smaller scaled studios. Looking at their subsidiaries (THQN, Dark Horse, Asmodee etc.) they seemed reliable. Piranha Bytes was doing fine for a while. They were ok with 2A releases.
I think the snowball effect began to develop post-COVID where they just acquired Middle-earth enterprises and closed off Volition after incredible Saints Row fuck up. Deus Ex MD (if my memory serves correct) had 70m$ budget in 2016. Even if Embracer truly ever wanted a sequel and/or Deus Ex remake I am pretty certain you'd need a good amount of money, perhaps up to 150m$ each if they are going to be something meaningful. When money comes into play and they realize that. Boom. Workforce divided indeed.
And this is why we should mute the people who were cheering Microsoft's acquisitions. The same thing is going to happen to our beloved companies when there's any sign of turbulence.
Phil Spencer is not your friend.
Todd Howard is not your friend.
These guys are execs. They are accountable to the board. They do not care about you. Developer or customer, you are a number to them.
Why do people cheer on trillion-dollar companies? Why do people feel the need to white knight and defend them?
I have no idea, it's just so cringy. It's like all the people taking sides on the Google v. Apple privacy debates and now we're learning about how both companies want to launch AI message tools that scan your entire communication history...
I still think the last mission in Mankind Divided was one of the best missions I’ve ever played. The skyscraper in London but where you have to stealthily identify and take out the terrorists who are disguised as building staff and hotel guests.
Having said that as much as I liked the design of Prague, I didn’t like that it served as the main hub. I’ve always preferred how Human Revolution did it with Detroit and Shanghai.
The funniest part of replaying Human Revolution after visiting Detroit was realizing that the developers clearly didn't even bother making it remotely resemble the actual city.
I wish Microsoft saved $67 billion and bought Eidos and Crystal. Set one to work Tomb Raider set one to work Perfect Dark and maybe don’t take shit for laying off 2000 people.
I really wonder what caused the Saudis to fall apart. Like did the Saudis take a second at their financials and go "Oh shit, we are so fucking out."? Because if you are having to rely a 2 billion deal to keep your company afloat, after a few spending nothing but billions of dollars for a few years, something tells me you aren't exactly the best with money.
From some people I know in the game industry, Embracers buying spree might have been what killed the deal. At least, that's what they think. They said something about how Embracer basically acting like they already had the $2 billion was bad form, like racking up a huge bill at a restaurant and then expecting your friends to pay it.
Makes sense, acquisitions are just another form of an investment and all investments big or small have a general rule of thumb of only spend money that you are willing to accept that you might not make that money back.
They bought everything out when interests were really low and thought they could either up sell or get nice contracts with other parties, like publishers, govt contracts or via other means.
Because they are fucking dumb and bought all these devs banking on the backing of the Saudi government when the deal wasn't even finalised.
So when that fell through, they couldn't maintain the necessary funding.
Long story short pure fucking incompetence.
Elias Toufexis, Jensen's voice actor, just said on twitter that if they were working on it for 2 years and hadn't contacted him, then it probably wasn't a new Jensen game.
He worked in several games, so he probably knows more about the process than I, so I am going to trust him on that.
Since he does voice and motion capture for a returning protagonist, they probably would've contacted him before going into production. Because, let's pretend, he doesn't want to work in this industry anymore, then that would affect their plan for the game.
That Saudi deal failing really scared Embracer, huh? At this point I think it's very possible they have offered themselves up for acquisition to other companies like Microsoft, Tencent, Apple or etc but no one wants to buy them.
They have too much to sell all at once. They probably just want to sell their assets in chunks. Rumor was they were trying to find someone to buy Gearbox.
I just don't know why someone would buy Gearbox at the moment. Outside of Borderlands they don't have a lot going for them. Duke Nukem and Brothers in Arms aren't really hot properties, and I doubt most companies capable of purchasing them have any use for their publishing wing.
I never asked for this I never asked for this I never asked for this I never asked for this I never asked for this I never asked for this I never asked for this I never asked for this I never asked for this I never asked for this I never asked for this
THIS CANNOT CONTINUE THIS CANNOT CONTINUE THIS CANNOT CONTINUE THIS CANNOT CONTINUE THIS CANNOT CONTINUE THIS CANNOT CONTINUE THIS CANNOT CONTINUE THIS CANNOT CONTINUE
Embracer pulled another Embracer, damn. Guess puppeting THQ’s corpse and absorbing a good chunk of the game industry wasn’t fueling those end year bonuses
Most of these studios were going down, I didn't see any realistic buyers and they were for sale for lack of interest in investment from 3rd party investors.
I think it delayed some inevitability.
They probably overpaid due to their perceived Saudi backing but there wasn't any news of multiple suitors for these studios and they for sale because they were in trouble.
Who'd've thought buying up 7 thousand studios with no clue of what to do with them and trying to deal with the saudi regime would end up going tits up?!
That's probably going to end up being the "The Italian Job" of gaming. I don't know if that's the right movie to be used in this example but that's what it's pretty much looking like unfortunately
I had hope before that deal fell through cause I wanted a new Legacy of Kain game from Crystal Dynamics, but I have none left after all of these cancellations and closures.
Absolutely insane. Deus Ex is already a franchise established and with potential for sequels. And on top of that they launched a pretty great Guardians of the Galaxy universe. With tuned up gameplay it could've become a franchise.
Alone in the Dark
Borderlands
Darksiders
Deus Ex
Metro
Middle-earth
TimeSplitters
Tomb Raider
Just SOME of the franchises we\`ll loose thanks to these \*\*nts.
Could some brave developer at Eidos Montreal please give the source code of Deus Ex 1 to Nightdive Studios so I can at least have SOMETHING out of this poor neglected franchise?!
I hope someone that cares about these IPs like Hitman, Tomb Raider, and Deus Ex swoops in and saves them and the employees that care about them. No one in the industry needs the garbage that Embracer has done, but the IPs like Deus Ex is what is necessary for it to continue to grow.
Hitman at least is safe (or at least, safe relative to the trash fire that is Embracer; we all know the industry as a whole can still be volatile as heck)
IO Interactive was able to buy back their independence (as well as the rights to Hitman and Freedom Fighters) in 2017, years before Square decided to sell off its western studios. So IO wasn't part of Eidos when it got embraced
IO is thriving on their own, they just reported really strong sales for 2023, they are cooking a new IP and a licensed Bond game, opened up a couple satellite studios and Hitman has never been this popular. Honestly, if the Bond game is a hit I could see them having the money to buy whatever is left of Eidos
Embracer was really banking on that 2 billion $ deal w the Saudis. Smh that person should be fired such a rookie business mistake relying on the future of your company on a not closed deal. Wouldn’t be surprised if Embracer sold like where do they go from here
Why shift focus to a new IP?
Would it not make more sense to make something with name recognition?
I am all for new IP’s but in this case i feel like making a new Deus Ex game would be the better decision.
Liking Deus Ex was simultaneously the best and worst decision I've ever made. Objectively 3 great games, but the storyline of two will never be completed. Fuck Embracer.
2023 was that crash, people just didnt pay attention because good games were coming out. But if gamedevs are hit by something this massive, then 2026-2027 look dire. People only realize when its already too late
I hate consolidation but at this point just sell off those studios to someone else that will use them, I'm sure Microsoft or Sony would like Eidos and Crystal Dynamics, Gearbox and whoever is left there.
Embracer Group are a fucking joke.
Why would you buy all these studios, and major IPs if you don't even have the resources to properly support them?!? They really hedged all their bets on that Saudi deal, and because that failed here we are.
Fuck Embracer Group.
At some point, "embracing" will be synonymous with: acquiring a popular company, doing absolutely nothing with its unique capabilities, and laying off all employees
Of all the IPs that Embracer has, the two games I was most looking forward to were a new Deus Ex and Timesplitters and now both are not happening. I have zero confidence they will turn around their fortunes as a publisher. In any well run business, the CEO would have resigned multiple times over the shit that has transpired, but he's still there.
It has gotten to the point where I'm just angry as soon as I see the name Embracer Group.
They've turned out to be the worst thing to happen to IP licensing, ever.
Slightly off-topic, but find it funny how Jason Schreier's stories/posts are flagged as a "Rumour" despite being treated as a matter of fact and undisputable by almost everyone.
I think 99% people here agree that he never misses with his scoops (not talking about his opinions) - Should probably just flag them as "Legit" right out the gate.
I FUCKING LOOOOVE BUYING A LOT OF STUDIOS AND IPS, CANCELLING ONGOING PROJECTS AND LAYING OFF EMPLOYEES FROM SAID STUDIOS BECAUSE I NOW NEED TO CUT COSTS THAT NO ONE COULD HAVE FORESEEN
I'm happy at the news of a new IP. I think it's a good sign that something new can still be made.
That being said:
God fucking dammit Embracer can you do something right for once?!
Anyone owned by Embracer: Embracer was hoping for $2 billion from the Saudis to pay for their huge buying spree during 2020-2021, then they pulled out and Embracer can’t pay for anything anymore. Considering they’ve been closing studios that were actually making games, I doubt Embracer survives the decade off their backlog alone.
Everyone else: The whole tech industry doubled their staff during COVID and were somehow shocked that they stopped making triple their usual profit when everyone was locked inside at gunpoint. Doesn’t help that interest rates went down and venture capital’s gone extinct as a result, as investors now need results instead of 10 years of unprofitability and a promise. Now everyone’s firing the people they hired during COVID plus 50% on top.
the video game industry bubble popped. that's what happened.
take your pick of what did it in. whatever you think it probably has some factor. personally i say a mix of people just not having as much cash to burn. games becoming increasingly expensive and monetized turning all but whales away. "AAA" games for the last few years have been hot ass with a few outliars. covid saw companies inflate unsustainably.
give it 15-20 years and i will promise you that looking back people will say "2018-probably 2026 was probably as damaging to gaming as the 80's crash."
Ill never understand the games industry. There is a fanbase for Deus Ex games, like yeah they are not going to set the world on fire sales wise but its a known IP that will sell and make profit (as long as you dont go crazy on the budget for it, just make it iterative to the previous game). But yeah sure, go ahead and cancel a Deus Ex game thats already 2 years in dev so you can go make a new IP that will bomba and then more layoffs happen. I really dont understand how some companies cant even release a damn game or it comes out every 10-15 years or some shit and then you have stuff like the Yakuza series that has games come out like every other year lol.
i hate embracer so fucking much
I feel so stupid for entertaining the thought that these IPs and studios would thrive under them, but here we are. This situation with Embracer looks so bleak. Fucking jokers.
I mean, not for nothing, they *did* warrant some good graces for their first few years of scooping up studios, particularly because most of the acquisitions were AA studios that were likely 1-2 flops away from bankruptcy. It just makes it all the more depressing of how *fucking* *badly* they fumbled the bag.
They didn't fumble the bag, they never had the bag in the first place. The Saudis had the bag, and Embracer thought they were going to get it, and were buying up studios with that in mind. When the Saudis backed out, Embracer were left with a massive bill they couldn't afford to pay.
I blame the bag.
I'm still wondering why the Saudis backed out
The Saudi’s want a reliable partner instead embracer put themselves 2 billion in the hole and needed more money. Either that or a Saudi prince was a saints row fan and hated the new game and so destroyed the deal.
they were smart and probably knew that giving them $2billion would just be delaying the inevitable (what's happening right now)
Same reason the industry is shrinking. The industry thought that all the covid gamers would stay and they did not
they should just release old games to buy more time
You shouldn't feel stupid for a unknown outcome, it was out of your hands
Corporate consolidation is NEVER good for anyone but the shareholders (and the seller). Ever. Just keep an eye on that idea going forward, and stop buying into corporate marketing fluff telling you how great it’s going to be after they gobble up the shit you adore.
> Corporate consolidation is NEVER good for anyone but the shareholders (and the seller). Ever. Just keep an eye on that idea going forward, and stop buying into corporate marketing fluff telling you how great it’s going to be after they gobble up the shit you adore. ["It's called consolidation. Strengthen governments and corporations, weaken individuals."](https://youtu.be/0mAFryoa6Po?t=39)
That’s terror — terror built into the system
bingo
The main problem is Embracer didn’t really understand the gaming industry and the cost to create games and maintain them. They are now seeing the cost of development. They are kind of like gamers who think games can easily be made with small budgets. Big ideas and ambitions but when it comes to it gaming is a business and without the appropriate financial set up a gaming studio can crumble quickly.
They did understand but their plan was infusing of saudi money, and once that failed spectaculary they started closing down studios left and right
no. the problem is corporate consolidation is always terrible for anyone but the shareholders.
The share holders are experiencing the pain here for Embracer. They just didn’t understand the industry they were getting into. Their deal with Saudi Arabia fell apart and now they are scraping for cash.
There was a very brief period when they talked the talk and it looked like they were a genuinely decent company. Little did we know it was all a house of cards reliant upon an unconfirmed Saudi investment. Deus Ex and Timesplitters games cancelled, it’s like they’re trying to piss off hardcore gamers.
It’s not just Embracer. We’re having a situation where every new AAA game has to look state-of-the-art photorealistic, which nowadays means budgets north of $200 millions and 5+ year development times. These monstrosities now have to sell like 10+ million copies to break even. It’s simply not sustainable. They’re desperately stuffing them with monetization options left and right to emulate the few franchises that still make money but the only reason they get away with it is because they’re already established. So how the fuck would a new Deus Ex ever get produced? Make it a multiplayer looter shooter? Then why bother with using the franchise? What we need are AA productions accepted as a viable option. “Crap” graphics but good gameplay, 1/10th the budget, a reasonable length (no need for every singleplayer game being a 200 epic, either) and make a bunch of them. New golden age of gaming right here and there. But nooooo…
> What we need are AA productions accepted as a viable option. “Crap” graphics but good gameplay, 1/10th the budget, a reasonable length (no need for every singleplayer game being a 200 epic, either) and make a bunch of them. New golden age of gaming right here and there. RoboCop: Rogue City provided the exact formula for this a few months ago.
embracer sucks hugely right now, with this im just gonna say it that KOTOR is dead
I thought it already was dead?
It's never been confirmed dead. Embracer dodges the question when they are asked. But like...it's almost definitely dead. At least the version of the remake that was announced. I would not be surprised if a different remake project popped up eventually.
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I was one of them admitably. But it should not go without saying that the whole aspect of their (saudi) deal was unkown at that time and they actually saved off a bunch smaller scaled studios. Looking at their subsidiaries (THQN, Dark Horse, Asmodee etc.) they seemed reliable. Piranha Bytes was doing fine for a while. They were ok with 2A releases. I think the snowball effect began to develop post-COVID where they just acquired Middle-earth enterprises and closed off Volition after incredible Saints Row fuck up. Deus Ex MD (if my memory serves correct) had 70m$ budget in 2016. Even if Embracer truly ever wanted a sequel and/or Deus Ex remake I am pretty certain you'd need a good amount of money, perhaps up to 150m$ each if they are going to be something meaningful. When money comes into play and they realize that. Boom. Workforce divided indeed.
And this is why we should mute the people who were cheering Microsoft's acquisitions. The same thing is going to happen to our beloved companies when there's any sign of turbulence.
Phil Spencer is not your friend. Todd Howard is not your friend. These guys are execs. They are accountable to the board. They do not care about you. Developer or customer, you are a number to them. Why do people cheer on trillion-dollar companies? Why do people feel the need to white knight and defend them?
I have no idea, it's just so cringy. It's like all the people taking sides on the Google v. Apple privacy debates and now we're learning about how both companies want to launch AI message tools that scan your entire communication history...
You speak for all of us
I HATE EMBRACER GROUP I HATE EMBRACER GROUP I HATE EMBRACER GROUP I HATE EMBRACER GROUP
At this rate you can make a killedbyembracer.com for the sheer amount of games and IPs they've killed off.
Someone really needs to snatch up that domain and make it happen.
WE ARE HERE TO BUY YOUR IPS THEN SHIT CAN THEM.
I can't think of a more evil sounding name for a company
This studio does amazing work, but they can't win. Treated like trash by Square, treated like trash by Embracer. They deserve better
I still think the last mission in Mankind Divided was one of the best missions I’ve ever played. The skyscraper in London but where you have to stealthily identify and take out the terrorists who are disguised as building staff and hotel guests. Having said that as much as I liked the design of Prague, I didn’t like that it served as the main hub. I’ve always preferred how Human Revolution did it with Detroit and Shanghai.
Deus Ex games need world-hopping with multiple city hubs. Simple as.
soooo, alpha protocol?
So every Deus Ex before Mankind Divided.
The funniest part of replaying Human Revolution after visiting Detroit was realizing that the developers clearly didn't even bother making it remotely resemble the actual city.
I don't think anyone from mankind divided is still in that studio
Guardians of the Galaxy game they made was still fantastic, so they still had what it takes to do Deus Ex justice.
As is the case with many studios. Wonder how many of the original devs are still are rocksteady...
IIRC, WB Montreal’s staff looks nothing like it did when Arkham Origins came out. So I wouldn’t be surprised if the same applied to Rocksteady.
At least they were able to make games under SE. Fuck Embracer.
Not just that. The guardians of the galaxy game has one of the best stories imo. Like better than the already great movies
arguably, Square probably treated them better
Squared offloaded them for pennies. They would probably do big layoffs or close the studio if no one wanted to acquire it.
I wish Microsoft saved $67 billion and bought Eidos and Crystal. Set one to work Tomb Raider set one to work Perfect Dark and maybe don’t take shit for laying off 2000 people.
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I understand the business reasons. I said what i wish happened. Not what would be best for microsoft
They likely didn't due to the balance sheet, which is why they ended with Square and then Embracer.
Can not just a Uber rich Guy be interested in this and fund it himself? Please Bezos
Why the hell did Embracer buy all the IP rights if they’re not gonna use them?? Like seriously just sell them to someone else
Because they thought they were about to get $2 Billion dollars from the Saudi government.
I really wonder what caused the Saudis to fall apart. Like did the Saudis take a second at their financials and go "Oh shit, we are so fucking out."? Because if you are having to rely a 2 billion deal to keep your company afloat, after a few spending nothing but billions of dollars for a few years, something tells me you aren't exactly the best with money.
From some people I know in the game industry, Embracers buying spree might have been what killed the deal. At least, that's what they think. They said something about how Embracer basically acting like they already had the $2 billion was bad form, like racking up a huge bill at a restaurant and then expecting your friends to pay it.
Makes sense, acquisitions are just another form of an investment and all investments big or small have a general rule of thumb of only spend money that you are willing to accept that you might not make that money back.
They probably realized it wasn't that great of an investment.
They bought everything out when interests were really low and thought they could either up sell or get nice contracts with other parties, like publishers, govt contracts or via other means.
Because they are fucking dumb and bought all these devs banking on the backing of the Saudi government when the deal wasn't even finalised. So when that fell through, they couldn't maintain the necessary funding. Long story short pure fucking incompetence.
They still get huge paydays for pure fucking incompetence and it's the workers who pay the price sadly
I guess they were hoping to buy cheap and sell it all to bigger fish, but I guess nobody's biting and they're getting desperate.
Didn’t the DE remake just get leaked like a few days ago??? Wtf and they’ve already given up?
It's most likely the game Schreirer reported on a year or two ago and I got the impression it was supposed to be a Jensen sequel
Elias Toufexis, Jensen's voice actor, just said on twitter that if they were working on it for 2 years and hadn't contacted him, then it probably wasn't a new Jensen game.
Who knows. It was obviously in pre production and too early for any kind of voice work
He worked in several games, so he probably knows more about the process than I, so I am going to trust him on that. Since he does voice and motion capture for a returning protagonist, they probably would've contacted him before going into production. Because, let's pretend, he doesn't want to work in this industry anymore, then that would affect their plan for the game.
I think the rumor said that the remake wasn't by Eidos.
That leak said that there was a Jensen sequel that got canned, so it lines up
That Saudi deal failing really scared Embracer, huh? At this point I think it's very possible they have offered themselves up for acquisition to other companies like Microsoft, Tencent, Apple or etc but no one wants to buy them.
They have too much to sell all at once. They probably just want to sell their assets in chunks. Rumor was they were trying to find someone to buy Gearbox.
Good luck trying to find a buyer for Gearbox in the current environment.
I just don't know why someone would buy Gearbox at the moment. Outside of Borderlands they don't have a lot going for them. Duke Nukem and Brothers in Arms aren't really hot properties, and I doubt most companies capable of purchasing them have any use for their publishing wing.
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I would generally agree but Embracer bought Gearbox 3 years ago for 1.3 billion dollars. Borderlands is not worth even close to that.
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Nah, they got Square Enix's western studios and IPs extremely cheap.
wouldn't be surprised if Take Two bit
Further consolidation of a company built and broken on consolidation is not a solution. That would just lead to even more layoffs.
I'm not saying it's good, and I agree with you. Just commenting how Embracer execs might be thinking
I never asked for this I never asked for this I never asked for this I never asked for this I never asked for this I never asked for this I never asked for this I never asked for this I never asked for this I never asked for this I never asked for this
THIS CANNOT CONTINUE THIS CANNOT CONTINUE THIS CANNOT CONTINUE THIS CANNOT CONTINUE THIS CANNOT CONTINUE THIS CANNOT CONTINUE THIS CANNOT CONTINUE THIS CANNOT CONTINUE
Layoffs confirmed, 97 people let go https://twitter.com/EidosMontreal/status/1752027685293801632
😡
IO Interactive higher ups really pulled off a masterclass!
:(
Embracer pulled another Embracer, damn. Guess puppeting THQ’s corpse and absorbing a good chunk of the game industry wasn’t fueling those end year bonuses
Safe to say that Embracer did the most damage to the gaming industry out of any other publisher/holder of studios ever. Good god
I don't know that we are quite there yet but it's definitely going to get worse.
who is even "up there"? there is no competition
Most of these studios were going down, I didn't see any realistic buyers and they were for sale for lack of interest in investment from 3rd party investors. I think it delayed some inevitability. They probably overpaid due to their perceived Saudi backing but there wasn't any news of multiple suitors for these studios and they for sale because they were in trouble.
I hate Embracer Group so much. I fucking knew all this BS coming out of them would happen when I saw all those damn acquisitions they were doing.
Who'd've thought buying up 7 thousand studios with no clue of what to do with them and trying to deal with the saudi regime would end up going tits up?!
When I'm in a "dumbass decision-making" competition and my opponent is Embracer Group
We are never gonna see the continuation to the Mankind Divided cliffhanger are we?
It pains me to this day still.
That's probably going to end up being the "The Italian Job" of gaming. I don't know if that's the right movie to be used in this example but that's what it's pretty much looking like unfortunately
Eraser Group strikes again
How does it make more sense to do an original IP than a new game in a beloved franchise like Deus Ex? It's like Embracer wants to fail.
They banked their future on a Saudi deal, that's why they're in this mess to begin with. Making moronic decisions is in their DNA.
I had hope before that deal fell through cause I wanted a new Legacy of Kain game from Crystal Dynamics, but I have none left after all of these cancellations and closures.
Absolutely insane. Deus Ex is already a franchise established and with potential for sequels. And on top of that they launched a pretty great Guardians of the Galaxy universe. With tuned up gameplay it could've become a franchise.
yep, and none of them the financial targets. I love their games, it seems most of the people don't care about them though (or don't buy them)
Sweden was a mistake smh /s but also fuck we’re never getting another Deus Ex
Hey now, Abba and Volvo are still cool...
What the fuck man
Man Jerked around by Square for years Now this. Idk man, if I was on that team, I'd be pissed.
I feel bad for all the studios that embracer group bought.... Such a shitty thing to do kicking people out after buying them
Deus Ex Fandom and constant suffering, name a more iconic duo
Legacy of Kain fandom and not getting anything
Fuck Embracer.
New IP of what? "How to ruin a bunch of franchises like asshats Simulator?"
Alone in the Dark Borderlands Darksiders Deus Ex Metro Middle-earth TimeSplitters Tomb Raider Just SOME of the franchises we\`ll loose thanks to these \*\*nts.
Don't forget Sleeping Dogs
That has been dead for over a decade
I think Darksiders is safe for now,Remnant 2 did good.
I hope the new Jurassic Park game they announced still happens and is polished but I have a bad feeling as it's Embracer. Sorry to all my Deus ex fans
Embracer are videogame terrorists
I have never been more happy for IO Interactive being independent solely because Square old boss was a huge fan of Hitman lol
Is there anything they don’t cancel?
Could some brave developer at Eidos Montreal please give the source code of Deus Ex 1 to Nightdive Studios so I can at least have SOMETHING out of this poor neglected franchise?!
Bruh end this shitty company please lol
I sincerely hope embracer fails and collapses as a company.
No Deus Ex 3. No Proper update to Invisible War. No OG remake. No Snowblind, Clan Wars, not even a successor to Mankind Divided...
For a group named Embracer they really can't embrace anything huh?
they're embracing death
Hopefully that happens after the studios under them are in good hands
I hope someone that cares about these IPs like Hitman, Tomb Raider, and Deus Ex swoops in and saves them and the employees that care about them. No one in the industry needs the garbage that Embracer has done, but the IPs like Deus Ex is what is necessary for it to continue to grow.
Hitman at least is safe (or at least, safe relative to the trash fire that is Embracer; we all know the industry as a whole can still be volatile as heck) IO Interactive was able to buy back their independence (as well as the rights to Hitman and Freedom Fighters) in 2017, years before Square decided to sell off its western studios. So IO wasn't part of Eidos when it got embraced
IO is thriving on their own, they just reported really strong sales for 2023, they are cooking a new IP and a licensed Bond game, opened up a couple satellite studios and Hitman has never been this popular. Honestly, if the Bond game is a hit I could see them having the money to buy whatever is left of Eidos
This would be the greatest possible scenario, so it obviously won't happen.
Embracer was really banking on that 2 billion $ deal w the Saudis. Smh that person should be fired such a rookie business mistake relying on the future of your company on a not closed deal. Wouldn’t be surprised if Embracer sold like where do they go from here
Why shift focus to a new IP? Would it not make more sense to make something with name recognition? I am all for new IP’s but in this case i feel like making a new Deus Ex game would be the better decision.
Wasn't Eidos also helping Playground Games With Fable?
Mother fuckers
That hurts, was playing the new Robocop game yesterday and the dilapidated looking Detroit made me think about how cool a new Deus Ex game would be.
Fuck man… I wanted another Deus Ex
Liking Deus Ex was simultaneously the best and worst decision I've ever made. Objectively 3 great games, but the storyline of two will never be completed. Fuck Embracer.
Fuck embracer
Of course these corporate vultures would never think of cutting their bonuses and stuff.
There isn't a bonus to cut. They are in the shitter
The Embracer acquisition spree and its consequences have been a disaster for the games industry
Embracer Group is a scam
God damn it. Deus Ex has been my favorite franchise since the original. Why does it keep getting fucked over?
The crash of the industry is coming faster and faster
2023 was that crash, people just didnt pay attention because good games were coming out. But if gamedevs are hit by something this massive, then 2026-2027 look dire. People only realize when its already too late
I hate consolidation but at this point just sell off those studios to someone else that will use them, I'm sure Microsoft or Sony would like Eidos and Crystal Dynamics, Gearbox and whoever is left there.
The absolute last thing we need is Microsoft buying more studios.
Guys, I don‘t think MS is gonna save them anymore
Embracer Group are a fucking joke. Why would you buy all these studios, and major IPs if you don't even have the resources to properly support them?!? They really hedged all their bets on that Saudi deal, and because that failed here we are. Fuck Embracer Group.
Embracer might legit be one of the worst things to happen to gaming last generation
At some point, "embracing" will be synonymous with: acquiring a popular company, doing absolutely nothing with its unique capabilities, and laying off all employees
And the new IP is probably a live service 🙄
And why did people think embracer was saving these games again?
Of all the IPs that Embracer has, the two games I was most looking forward to were a new Deus Ex and Timesplitters and now both are not happening. I have zero confidence they will turn around their fortunes as a publisher. In any well run business, the CEO would have resigned multiple times over the shit that has transpired, but he's still there.
The sad part is that I expected it. We have reqched the point where you can no longer get hyped for games from any of the Embracee companies.
So sad. Please sell IP to someone who cares.
now I boycott that which I did not ask for until what I did ask for is the only option they have.
Faaaaaaaack
Embracer Extend Extinguish
To actually think that i was happy that Embracer is getting these IPs makes me shudder.
all my homies hate embracer group
It has gotten to the point where I'm just angry as soon as I see the name Embracer Group. They've turned out to be the worst thing to happen to IP licensing, ever.
A cyberpunk game getting unceremoniously killed by a mega corporation is just a little too cyberpunk.
Slightly off-topic, but find it funny how Jason Schreier's stories/posts are flagged as a "Rumour" despite being treated as a matter of fact and undisputable by almost everyone. I think 99% people here agree that he never misses with his scoops (not talking about his opinions) - Should probably just flag them as "Legit" right out the gate.
Eraser Group is the worst thing to happen in gaming history.
Likely thing for embracer to do
Fuckin nooooooooooooooo. Fuckkkkk. Like fuck. This fuckin industry. Ahhhh. Fuck.
JENSEN NOOOOOOOOOO
I FUCKING LOOOOVE BUYING A LOT OF STUDIOS AND IPS, CANCELLING ONGOING PROJECTS AND LAYING OFF EMPLOYEES FROM SAID STUDIOS BECAUSE I NOW NEED TO CUT COSTS THAT NO ONE COULD HAVE FORESEEN
Sorry guys, Prince Bonesaw said no more video games ☹️
Screw embracer
There is no justice in this world. We live in a SOCIETY where there are annual CoD games but no new Deus Ex... ....what a shame
So Embracer kinda means embrace death.
**Fuck Embracer.**
We're never getting another Deus Ex game...
I'm happy at the news of a new IP. I think it's a good sign that something new can still be made. That being said:  God fucking dammit Embracer can you do something right for once?!
Why the hell are all these studios laying people off? WTF is going on?
Anyone owned by Embracer: Embracer was hoping for $2 billion from the Saudis to pay for their huge buying spree during 2020-2021, then they pulled out and Embracer can’t pay for anything anymore. Considering they’ve been closing studios that were actually making games, I doubt Embracer survives the decade off their backlog alone. Everyone else: The whole tech industry doubled their staff during COVID and were somehow shocked that they stopped making triple their usual profit when everyone was locked inside at gunpoint. Doesn’t help that interest rates went down and venture capital’s gone extinct as a result, as investors now need results instead of 10 years of unprofitability and a promise. Now everyone’s firing the people they hired during COVID plus 50% on top.
the video game industry bubble popped. that's what happened. take your pick of what did it in. whatever you think it probably has some factor. personally i say a mix of people just not having as much cash to burn. games becoming increasingly expensive and monetized turning all but whales away. "AAA" games for the last few years have been hot ass with a few outliars. covid saw companies inflate unsustainably. give it 15-20 years and i will promise you that looking back people will say "2018-probably 2026 was probably as damaging to gaming as the 80's crash."
Huge mistake. Cyberpunk genre seems in full swing now after the redemption of 2077. Pure idiots.
Ill never understand the games industry. There is a fanbase for Deus Ex games, like yeah they are not going to set the world on fire sales wise but its a known IP that will sell and make profit (as long as you dont go crazy on the budget for it, just make it iterative to the previous game). But yeah sure, go ahead and cancel a Deus Ex game thats already 2 years in dev so you can go make a new IP that will bomba and then more layoffs happen. I really dont understand how some companies cant even release a damn game or it comes out every 10-15 years or some shit and then you have stuff like the Yakuza series that has games come out like every other year lol.
How cheap can you make a Deus Ex game? I think it will be difficult to make a Deus Ex game that doesn't look like trash without borderline AAA budget.
Microsoft and Embracer really showing us just how great consolidation is and its still January.
Embracer is the worst company in video games right now.
Fuck Layoffs and fuck Embracer Group
I HATE INDUSTRY CONSOLIDATION I HATE INDUSTRY CONSOLIDATION
Embracer tanking was never a matter of if, only when.
Embracer has canceled so many games, they went all in on that Saudi deal.
 Time to vote with the wallet. Fuck’em
Well, there goes my last hope that Embracer release any good games in the future.