[GameSpot] - Embracer Group Acquires 3D Realms And Several Other Studios

[343iBot]

Swedish company Embracer Group has gone on another buying spree, having acquired several development studios through its subsidiary groups Gearbox Entertainment, THQ Nordic, Koch Media, Coffee Stain, Amplifier, Saber Interactive, Deca, and Easybrain. The studios acquired include:

• Crazy Labs
• Ghost Ship Games
• Easy Trigger
• Force Field
• DigixArt
• Slipgate Ironworks
• 3D Realms
• Grimfrost

According to GamesIndustry.biz, the complete acquisition is valued at $313 million, and additional consideration of up to $232 million will be paid out if the studios meet agreed milestones over a period of up to eight years.

The Amsterdam-based VR and AR studio Force Field will bolster Vertigo Games specifically, doubling the "internal development capacity" of the studio according to Embracer Group. As for the rest of the studios, Slipgate Ironworks and 3D Realms were being acquired by Saber Interactive, DigixArt will fall under the Koch Media group after the deal is finalized, and Ghost Ship Games will become a sister company to Coffee Stain while Easy Trigger functions as a new internal studio under the Danish developer.

"Brick by brick we continue to improve our operating groups and consequently Embracer as a whole," co-founder and group CEO at Embracer Lars Wingefors said in a statement. "We still have a strong balance sheet with a sizable net cash position to support further M&A [mergers & acquisitions] going forward.

Embracer Group currently owns more than 60 internal studios in over 45 countries in Europe and the US, with its most high-profile acquisition being Borderlands developer Gearbox in February this year.

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