Embracer Group purchases Gearbox, Aspyr Media, and Easybrain

Holding company goes on a spending spree

Video game holding company Embracer Group has announced a series of mergers and acquisitions, which sees the Swedish conglomerate open its doors for Borderlands developer Gearbox Entertainment, Mac developer/publisher Aspyr Media, and mobile game developer Easybrain.

Of these purchases the spotlight has mostly fallen on the acquisition of long-time independent Gearbox Entertainment, which was purchased for $363 million, with a six-year performance target of $1.3 billion. Naturally, questions have been asked regarding the developer’s team of personnel and future releases, with Borderlands publisher 2K Games being quick to note that the Embracer merger does not affect the relationship between 2K and Gearbox. The former will continue to publish Borderlands sequels going forward. (And given that six-year performance plan, we’ll definitely be seeing them).

As for Gearbox as a studio, founder and magician Randy Pitchford will continue to lead a team of 550 employees on all future projects. Speaking in a new interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Pitchford called the merger “a rocket booster for our ambitions and our mission to entertain the world,” while noting that “Embracer’s strategy also provides access to capital, and access to capital was a limiting factor in Gearbox’s ambitions.”

Gearbox Entertainment, Aspyr Media, and EasyBrain join Embracer’s already expansive family of developers and publishers, which also includes DECA Games, Coffee Stain Holding, and AAA publisher THQ Nordic, along with its subsidiaries Saber Interactive and Koch Media… Yikes. Lend us a tenner.