Square Enix Montréal to be renamed
Swedish media buyer-uppersEmbracer Grouphave completed their $300 million (£253 million) acquisition of former Square Enix studios, begun in May this year. The deal sees Crystal Dynamics, Eidol Montréal and Square Enix Montréal become part of a 12th operating group within Embracer. Square Enix Montréal will now change their name.
Embracer’s deal with Square Enix wasrevealedto the world on May 2nd, and also included intellectual property ranging fromTomb RaiderandDeus ExtoThief. The Swedish supergroup now own more than 50 “back-catalog” games that used to belong to Square Enix Holdings. You can read the full deets of the deal’s closure announced by Embracer todayhere.
It’s becoming increasingly difficult to find something that Embracer Group hasn’t acquired yet. The companybought the rightsto the entirety of J.R.R. Tolkein’s Middle-Earth last week, which just sounds totally out there. At the same time, Embracer began the acquisition of seven more companies within the games industry, including Tripwire Interactive, Tuxedo Labs, Singtrix, Limited Run Games, arcade specialists Tatsujin, Bitwave Studios, and accessories maker Gioteck.
In total, those deals cost them SEK 6 billion (£480 million) upfront and potentially another SEK 2.2 billion (£175 million) in deferred costs. Embracer have also acquiredPerfect World Entertainment,Lost Boys InteractiveandBeamdogjust this year. They already own3D Realms and Gearbox,Aspyr, THQ Nordic and Saber Interactive.
Well, that’s some more solid business news for today. The consolidation of the games industry actually is moving ahead after all. Your suggestions for what Square Enix Montréal should be called in the comments, please.
