Gearbox Software, the development house behind Borderlands and Homeworld, was acquired by Embracer Group, the Swedish company also owns THQ Nordic and Koch Media. The acquisition makes Gearbox Software the company's seventh video game holding, along with other companies such as DECA and Saber Interactive. The purchase also includes plans to expand Gearbox, add new teams and staff, "create new brands" and search for new IPs to acquire. Randy Pitchford, who will remain at the head of the company, has made some statements regarding the acquisition:
Gearbox has been bought. https://t.co/39qvNzRoCq pic.twitter.com/sXyfKSbMIY
- Kotaku (@Kotaku) February 3, 2021
Embracer's vision is that of a group committed to fueling and accelerating the ambitions of a number of decentralized and successful entrepreneurial companies, while maximizing the collective value and benefits of diversification across the group. A brilliant and short-term strategy, which tries to achieve as much as possible in this sector: a project that I had never seen in my 30 years of career. The feeling in Gearbox is that we are just getting started and this transaction. It is not just a stimulus for the talent of our company and employees, but a boost for the exciting future we have planned.
Gearbox Software is the "mastermind" behind other hits like the series Brothers in Arms, and currently on the horizon is also a Borderlands film in the works, which no doubt contributed to Embracer's interest. The initial purchase price was $ 363 million, half in cash and half in Embracer shares, with a an additional billion to be paid (360 million shares and the rest in cash) if Gearbox is able to achieve "the financial and operational objectives agreed over the next six years". A turning point for the future of the company and its IPs, which in the coming years could undergo significant changes resulting from this important acquisition that will change the balance of the sector.
