Swedish gaming holding Embracer Group AB (“Embracer”) has reached an agreement to sell Russia’s Saber Interactive to a “group of private investors.” It would seem that we care about the Russians, but not everything is so simple in this potential deal.
Toxic ballast. What is known about the deal between Saber Interactive and Embracer
The first thing to clarify is that Saber Interactive is a Russian publisher founded by Russians. Don't let the US registration fool you. The main development studio was initially based in St. Petersburg. And they immediately oriented to the west (TimeShift). Since then, Saber has opened several studios in different countries. But the main thing: Saber Interactive is Russian. In 2020, Saber (entirely) bought Embracer for $525 and made it its sub-publisher – then the holding was actively buying up other gaming companies.
The deal to separate Saber Interactive from Embracer was reported by Bloomberg, citing its own sources. Its amount is $500 million. An unknown “group of private investors” will finance the deal, and after closing Saber will become a private company employing about 3,500 people. Bloomberg's material also mentions Saber's plans to resume development of a remake of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, which was announced in 2021 and which was until recently handled by Aspyr. Yes, the same Aspyr, which is a subsidiary of Saber Interactive and which allowed the Russians to reach with their hands, which are shoulder-deep in the blood of Ukrainians, the cult Tomb Raider I–III Remastered.
Embracer, which until recently was actively buying up everything it could, is now in a difficult situation and is actively restructuring – closing studios, laying off people, canceling games and selling off assets. The publication Kotaku separately reported that Embracer, together with Saber, will sell Gearbox (it seems that the deal is already at the final stage of registration) – to whom and for how much is still unknown.
It is obvious that Embracer is selling (let's believe Bloomberg) the entire Saber Interactive group and, taking into account the context (Russians) and all this mystery with anonymous private investors, most likely it is the Russians who are buying the Russians. And now the fun part.
What will happen to 4A Games now?
Embracer Group owns one of the most famous Ukrainian studios – 4A Games, known for the famous Metro series. More precisely, what was left of 4A Games after 4A Games co-founder and creative director Andrei Prokhorov (who led the creative part of the development of all Metro games) left the studio.
4A Games became part of Embracer – the holding bought the creators of the Metro series and merged the Ukrainian studio with Saber Interactive. This is real betrayal. Most likely, 4A Games is part of the deal and, if it is successfully closed (the probability of this is 99%), the Russians will get Saber Interactive.
We really want to be wrong and will update this text as soon as we learn new details. 4A Games is currently actively working on the next installment in the main Metro series. And to complete the story, Metro Awakening, a VR prequel to the Metro series, is scheduled for release in 2024. The game, which was made by Vertigo Games in collaboration with Deep Silver, and not by the Ukrainian development team, will not have Ukrainian localization
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