Lars Wingefors

The CEO of Embracer Group, Lars Wingefors, has said that the decision to lose the Embracer name has nothing to do with the industry's negative perception of the brand.

You can now download or watch the latest GI Microcast, offering you a quick dive into the biggest stories of the past week.

It’s been barely a month since the reboot of horror classic Alone in the Dark arrived, but it looks like developers Pieces Interactive are now making a number of layoffs in the wake of its release.

The Fallout craze continues to pay dividends for Bethesda. Earlier this week, the studio announced that Fallout 76 surpassed one million daily players across all platforms for the first time since its launch in late 2018. The multiplayer game is one of the top sellers on Steam (and elsewhere), largely thanks to various promotions and offers that have, however, since ended. On Valve's PC platform, the game reached 73.3K concurrent players last Sunday.

While the long-standing curse of gaming adaptations has been broken for quite a while, the Fallout TV adaptation (just renewed for a second season) stands out from many others not only because of its sheer quality but also because it dared to progress the story further, taking place after the latest games instead of merely adapting existing storylines.

Following the collapse of a «verbal agreement» reportedly worth $2 billion with the Saudi-funded Savvy Games, Embracer Group entered into a brutal nine-month restructuring programme that resulted in the loss of some 1,400 employees and the cancellation of dozens of unannounced games. CEO Lars Wingefors, whose actions were recently defended by Saber Interactive CEO Matthew Karch («give Lars a break»), in a new interview, says: «As a leader and an owner, sometimes you need to take the blame.»

When Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors declared an end to the company's nine-month restructuring program at the start of this month, you would have been forgiven for assuming that things would finally settle for the troubled games group.

Embracer Group CEO Lars Wingefors is taking the brunt of responsibility when it comes to the company's most recent round of layoffs, studio closures, and game cancelations.

The CEO of troubled Swedish games firm Embracer Group, Lars Wingefors, has admitted that he is deserving of criticism for the current state of his company.

Embracer Group CEO Lars Wingefors has suggested he must shoulder much of the blame for a “long list” of mistakes that led to a “painful” restructuring of the company.

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Embracer Group has announced its intention to transform into three standalone publicly listed entities: Asmodee Group, Coffee Stain & Friends, and Middle-earth Enterprises & Friends.

Swedish game and media holding company Embracer Group has announced its plans to split into three separate entities.

Embracer Group, the embattled gaming conglomerate that owns the rights to 'The Lord of the Rings' franchise, has announced that it is splitting into three different companies. The group, which went through significant restructuring this year and sold off major game studios like Saber Interactive and Gearbox to reduce debt, will separate into Asmodee Group, Coffee Stain & Friends, and Middle-earth Enterprises & Friends. The three games and entertainment companies will be standalone, publicly listed entities, Embracer said, with the split “enabling each entity to better focus on their respective core strategies and offer more differentiated and distinct equity stories for existing and new shareholders.”

Famed mass-layoff-manufacturing corporation Embracer Group are dividing into three companies, which will be listed separately on Sweden’s stock exchange. Those companies are: Asmodee Group, which comprises Embracer’s tabletop games biz; Coffee Stain & Friends, an evolution of the existing Coffee Stain publisher, who will pursue "a dual focus on indie and A/AA premium and free-to-play games for PC/console and mobile"; and Middle-earth Enterprises & Friends, “a creative powerhouse in AAA game development and publishing for PC and console, as well as the stewards of The Lord of the Rings and Tomb Raider intellectual properties, among many others”.

Embracer Group has been on a losing streak of late, having recently missed out on a $2 billion investment, laid off thousands of employees and sold one of its key properties, Gearbox, at fire-sale prices. Now, the company has announced plans to split into three separate, publicly listed entities, Bloomberg reported.

This morning, the Embracer Group announced a major transformation of the company, which will be split into three separate publicly listed companies: Asmodee Group, Coffee Stain & Friends, and Middle-earth Enterprises & Friends. The existing Embracer Group listing on Nasdaq Stockholm will be renamed to Middle-earth Enterprises & Friends, and shares of Asmodee Group and Coffee Stain & Friends will be distributed as dividends to shareholders of Embracer Group. The listing and distribution of Asmodee Group shares is expected to occur within 12 months, and Coffee Stain & Friends shares during calendar year 2025.

After nearly a year of layoffs and companies like Saber Interactive and Gearbox Entertainment departing, the Embracer Group has announced that it will split into three publicly listed companies operating as standalone entities. The companies in question are Asmodee Group, Coffee Stain and Friends and Middle-earth Enterprises and Friends.

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Embracer Group has announced its intent to split into three separately listed companies through 2024 and 2025 in the most drastic restructuring effort since the company fell into financial hardship last year, and bringing an end to the megalithic IP and studio acquisition project of the last decade. Asmodee Group will split off this year, with “Coffee Stain & Friends” and “Middle-earth Enterprises & Friends” then splitting up in 2025.

Swedish games firm Embracer Group is splitting up into three different companies.

The $70 release day price for standard AAA titles is both unsustainable and on the way out, claims Saber Interactive CEO Matthew Karch, via an interview with IGN reporter Rebekah Valentine.

Saber Interactive CEO Matthew Karch has defended Embracer's acquisition strategy, following its split from the Swedish conglomerate.

Saber CEO Matthew Karch has entered a no-holds barred interview with IGN about his company’s experience with Embracer Group. But what he has to say is probably going to surprise you.

Embracer is done with their long-term restructuring.

Saber Interactive founder Matthew Karch has launched a defence of his former employer Embracer Group and its CEO, Lars Wingefors.

Presumably, the remake of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic can’t hold up a newspaper with today’s date to prove that it is actually doing okay and hasn’t been quietly disposed of in a tax report somewhere, Warner Bros-style. As such, it falls to the head of current developers Saber Interactive to promise that the long-in-the-works Star Wars game is still “alive and well”.

Despite seemingly escaping the Embrace(r) of death through their sale to Take-Two at the end of last month, Gearbox Entertainment haven’t quite emerged unscathed. The studio has confirmed a number of layoffs shortly after the announcement of the sale, while clarifying that no positions related to the development of games were affected.

Gearbox Entertainment has announced an unspecified number of redundancies following its sale from Embracer last week.

Sony announced a remake of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic three years ago during the 2021 PlayStation Showcase. Since then, the trailer was delisted, it was indefinitely delayed, and it changed developers. Fears of it being cancelled have been mounting as both Disney and Embracer remain quiet, but developer Saber Interactive insists that it's still in the works and only yesterday revealed that the project is "alive and well".

The remake of Star Wars KOTOR (Knights of the Old Republic) is alive and well. That's the promise made to the countless fans of the game by Saber Interactive CEO Matthew Karch, speaking to IGN. The executive also said the studio is 'dedicated to making sure consumer expectations are exceeded', which likely hints at several years of development still needed. Indeed, Embracer Group CEO Lars Wingefors recently admitted the game needed more than a year of production.

Since its reveal at PlayStation Showcase in 2021, Star Wars: The Knights of the Old Republic Remake has had a tumultuous development history. The remake of the beloved RPG from 2003 was delayed indefinitely and changed developers in 2022, with Saber Interactive taking over from Aspyr. Last month, Saber along with other studios under its brand and its licensed IPs, was sold for $247 million by Embracer Group, creating further uncertainty around the remake project. Now, Saber has confirmed that the studio is still working on the game.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake is one of gaming's most elusive projects. Announced in 2021, the long-awaited remake has changed hands multiple times, seemingly stopped development and restarted again, and after six years of development has yet to manifest. Fortunately, we finally have a real, concrete update on what's going on. Saber Interactive is still working on it, and according to the CEO, it's "alive and well."

Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors has acknowledged it's «way too early» for the company to «start talking about» acquiring new studios.

After failing to close a $2 billion deal with Saudia Arabia’s Savvy Games Group, in June of last year, Embracer Group announced that it would be shuttering studios, cutting jobs, and cancelling games as part of a significant internal restructuring program in order to get its finances back into shape. That restructuring program is now finally over, with Gearbox Entertainment’s sale to Take-Two Interactive for $460 million seemingly being the final major step of that process.

Following the sales of Saber Interactive (to a new company founded by Saber CEO Matthew Karch) and Gearbox Software (to Take-Two), the Embracer Group held an investors call to confirm the end of its dreaded restructuring program.

Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors has told investors he believes it’s “too early” for the group to start considering studio acquisitions again, following the completion of its costly restructuring.

Earlier today, megacorp Embracer announced they were selling Borderlands developer Gearbox to Take-Two. During an investor call about the divestment, CEO Lars Wingefors confirmed that this brought an end to the restructuring process Embracer announced last year. He was also asked whether this meant Embracer had plans to start acquiring other studios again.

Take-Two is acquiring Gearbox Interactive from Embracer Group for a cool $460m.

Embracer have announced that they're selling Borderlands developers Gearbox Entertainment to Take-Two Interactive, owners of 2K Games and GTA 6 developers Rockstar, for $460 million in Take-Two shares. Three Gearbox Software studios - the flagship studio in Texas, together with Gearbox Montréal and Gearbox Quebec - will change hands as part of the deal. Take-Two will also acquire the Borderlands and Tiny Tina's Wonderlands franchises, together with Homeworld, Risk of Rain, Brothers in Arms and Duke Nukem.

A good few months after a sale was first reported to be on the table, Embracer has now confirmed the sale of Gearbox Entertainment to Take-Two Interactive for $460 million. This brings Gearbox in house with long term publishing partner 2K Games, who still had publishing rights to the Borderlands franchise, even with the developer under Embracer’s ownership.

Embracer Group has announced that it has sold Borderlands developer Gearbox Entertainment to Take-Two Interactive.

After months of rumors, the Embracer Group has confirmed an agreement to sell parts of Gearbox Entertainment to Take-Two Interactive for $460 million. The divested assets include Gearbox Software, Gearbox Montreal, Gearbox Studio Quebec and franchises like Borderlands, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, Homeworld, Risk of Rain, Duke Nukem and Brothers in Arms.

The collapse of the utterly reckless Embracer Group continues to occur publicly, as juggernaut development unit Saber Interactive has announced plans to split from the embattled Swedish organisation. The division will be purchased by Beacon Interactive, a new holding firm controlled by Saber Interactive’s co-founder Matthew Karch. But as detailed in a press release on the divestment, there’s still plenty to be untangled between the two titans.

The troubled Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake is still a long way away, the boss of Embracer has suggested.

According to Embracer Group, the remake likely won’t release within the next year. Embracer also announced the sale of Saber Interactive, with the KOTOR remake now a joint venture.

The remake of Knights of the Old Republic is now in a strange situation, after Embracer’s sale of Saber Interactive.

In a series of announcements, Embracer Group has hinted that gamers shouldn't expect to get their hands on the upcoming Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake this year. BioWare's classic action RPG released back in 2003, but it's still remembered fondly by fans. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic was part of what many gamers refer to as the developer's «golden age,» and more than a few players have been eager to see it updated for modern consoles.

This week's announcement that Embracer are selling off Saber Interactive to new company Beacon Interactive has cast further doubt over the future of one of Embracer's bigger projects, the much-delayed Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic remake. While Embracer have yet to actually state this out loud, it sounds like the KOTOR remake will be a "joint project" between Saber and Embracer. It also probably won't be out in the next 12 months. Given the project's repeated disruptions and delays, I suspect many of us will settle for the game coming out at all.

As expected, the Embracer Group has sold much of Saber Interactive, which is known for the Metro series, Gloomhaven and remakes of classic Star Wars titles. The buyer is a group of private investors under the umbrella of Beacon Interactive, which is run by Saber co-founder Matthew Karch.

It was announced earlier today that Saber Interactive will be splitting from parent company Embracer Group in a deal worth $247 million, with a number of studios and projects being divvied up between the two companies. The fate of the ever-troubled project Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic – Remake was left unknown, though some potential information on it may have emerged since then.

Saber Interactive has parted ways with Embracer Group, buying back the rights to its own work as well as much of its network of studios and contractors. 

Saber Interactive have parted ways with Embracer Group, buying back the rights to both themselves and numerous other studios in a deal initially valued at $247 million. The deal includes 38 ongoing game development projects plus the rights to 3D Realms, Slipgate Ironworks, New World Interactive, Nimble Giant, Mad Head, Digic, Fractured Byte and PR agency Sandbox Strategies, as well as Metro developers 4A Games and Pinball FX maker Zen Studios via options.

Embracer has sold Saber Interactive for $247 million.

Troubled European publishing giant Embracer Group has sold Saber Interactive as part of a bid to leave Russia.

Embracer Group has entered into an agreement to sell Saber Interactive to Beacon Interactive, a company controlled by Saber Interactive co-founder Matthew Karch, for a purchase price of USD $247 million, the company announced.

Saber Interactive has split from Embracer, with at least 38 ongoing game development projects among the divested assets and over 3,000 staff moving across. However, a number of key studios remain at Embracer, including Tripwire, Aspyr, and Beamdog.

Recent reports had indicated that Saber Interactive was on the verge agreeing a deal with parent company Embracer Group that would see it going independent. That has now been officially confirmed.

Troubled video game publisher Embracer has announced the sale of more of its assets — this time, large portions of Saber Interactive, for the price of $247m.

2013’s Payday 2 has almost 85 times as many average players on Steam as 2023’s Payday 3.

Swedish gaming company Embracer Group AB will sell one of its largest subsidiaries, Saber Interactive, to a group of private investors in a deal worth up to $500 million (roughly Rs. 4,142 crore), according to a person familiar with the transaction.

Embracer Group are reportedly selling off Saber Interactive, the company behind the Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic remake and Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 among many other things. Apparently, Saber are being flogged to a group of private investors for "up to" $500 million.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake developer Saber Interactive has reportedly left embattled parent company Embracer in a $500 million deal to become a privately owned company.

Embracer Group, the holdings company that spent years scooping up as many gaming properties and development teams as possible, has had to reduce its unsustainable size, cutting jobs, closing studios, and shelving projects. Last summer, the company announced its restructuring plan, and has now confirmed the figures pertaining to layoffs and more, and it's not pretty.

The wave of layoffs that has happened over the past year in the video game industry is well-documented. Some of the biggest culprits are Embracer Group, which has laid off nearly 1,400 workers across several of its studios since the start of a restructuring program last July, and Microsoft, which laid off 1,900 developers across Xbox, Bethesda, and Activision Blizzard in January. After relative silence around these layoffs, leadership at both companies finally tried to offer more transparently into what happened.

If you’ve paid attention to gaming news throughout the first six weeks of 2024, you’ll know that one of the biggest ongoing stories is that there have been TONS of layoffs across the industry within those first six weeks. As we reported in January, there have already been over 5500 jobs lost so far, and in all of 2023, there were 10,000. Given other reports about layoffs, downsizing, restructuring, and so on, it will likely hit over 10K in losses before too long. That brings us to The Embracer Group because they are a company that has helped with those layoff numbers, but their CEO defends what they’ve done.

Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors said that the current reduction in workforce at the company and across the industry is "something that everyone needs to get through," later adding that the group's strategy has been to cut the things that have "the lowest chance of success going forward" and to only keep "the most iconic studios."

In a recent statement by CEO Lars Wingefors, it was revealed that Embracer Group plans to continue its «restructuring» model of cutbacks in order to prioritize shareholders above all else. Having just announced even more layoffs for Embracer Group, this latest statement by the CEO has left many fans in shock.

There isn’t much of the games industry that hasn’t been impacted to some degree by the wave of layoffs it’s been suffering for more than a year at this point, but very few companies have contributed to that damage as much as Embracer Group has. Embracer announced an internal restructuring program in June last year after it failed to close a $2 billion deal with Saudi Arabia’s Savvy Games group, and since then, across all of its studios, it has laid off a startling number of people.

Embracer Group’s ongoing restructuring has resulted in the company cutting 1,400 jobs, or about 8% of its global workforce, it confirmed on Thursday.

Embracer Group cancelled 29 unannounced games during a six-month period last year, the company confirmed on Thursday.

Embracer has laid off 8 percent of its workforce as its restructuring programme reaches «mature stages».

Embracer have released their interim financial results for Q3, October-December 2023, in which they share details of the conglomerate's on-going efforts to "restructure" and reduce their massive debts, to the tune of hundreds of layoffs over the past year.

Embracer Group, the Swedish video game and media company that owns a huge number of subsidiaries, including Plaion, Saber Interactive, and THQ Nordic, has confirmed that it’s laid off around 8% of its staff since the start of its restructuring program last year.

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This morning, the Embracer Group released its Q3 fiscal year 2023/2024 financial report. The company managed to deliver slightly above expectations thanks to non-core game divisions like Asmodee, Middle-earth Enterprises, and mobile, while the PC and console segment was down 9% due to a lighter release schedule.

European games firm Embracer Group has cut its workforce by eight per cent since it started a "restructuring" process in 2023.

As revealed by last week's leak, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is the final free game on the Epic Games Store holiday list. Unlike previous freebies, though, users have a full week to redeem the game and permanently add it to their libraries.

Saints Row is today's free PC game available on the Epic Games Store. This will remain the last game made by Volition since the 30-year-old Illinois-based game developer was closed down earlier this year by owner Embracer Group as part of their restructuring plans.

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