What just happened? Embracer Group, the Swedish video game and media holding giant that owns several studios and the rights to some massive IPs, is splitting into three companies: Asmodee Group, Coffee Stain & Friends, and Middle-earth Enterprises & Friends.
Embracer said each of the three new entities will be a separate, publicly listed company, enabling a better focus on their respective core strategies.
Middle-earth Enterprises & Friends will, as the name suggests, focus on all things Lord of the Rings-related, as well as other IPs, including Tomb Raider. The company will be home to game studios including Crystal Dynamics, Dambuster Studios, Eidos-Montréal, Flying Wild Hog Studios, Tripwire, Vertigo Games, Warhorse Studios and 4A Games, among others. Its IPs also include Dead Island, Killing Floor, Kingdom Come Deliverance. This group will include publisher PLAION, global ecosystem Freemode, and Dark Horse Media.
Next is Coffee Stain & Friends, a "diverse gaming entity" that will focus on indie, mid-market, and free-to-play games. Intellectual properties include Deep Rock Galactic, Goat Simulator, Satisfactory, Wreckfest, Teardown, and Valheim. Key published free-to-play games based on licensed IPs include Star Trek Online and D&D Neverwinter Online.
Finally, there's Asmodee. Embracer writes that it is a leading international publisher and distributor of board games, trading cards and digital board games with 23 fully owned studios and 300+ IPs. Its current catalog includes the likes of Ticket to Ride, 7 Wonders, Azul, CATAN, Dobble, and Exploding Kittens. Asmodee is also developing new licensed tabletop games based on The Lord of the Rings, Marvel, Game of Thrones, and Star Wars.
Embracer Group and its employees haven't been having the best time since a $2 billion deal reported to be with Saudi government-funded company Savvy Games Group fell through last year. It led to Saints Row developer Volition and Timesplitters dev Free Radical Design shutting down, the sale of Borderlands creator Gearbox to Take-Two for $460 million, and 29 unannounced games being canceled, including a new Deus Ex title that had been in development for two years.
Embracer has laid off 1,387 people since its restructuring began in June last year, or around 8% of its total global workforce.
Embracer Group divides into three specialized companies to enhance game and media operations
