Embracer Group recently announced the acquisition of licenses and studios from Square-Enix. An operation that should be revealed in the next few months and that should allow the Swedish giant to get hold of cult series like deus ex or Grave robbers. Enough to put Embracer Group at the forefront of the industry alongside other studios capable of developing AAA games for millions of players.
Take care of historical IPs
On the microphone of gaming industryLars Wingefors, Embracer’s current CEO, spoke about the group’s ability to deliver best-in-class experiences and the challenges of such an acquisition. “We will not concentrate all of our content in a single editor. It doesn’t make sense for our operating model.” he specifies. A speech aimed at both guaranteeing all studios some creative freedom and minimizing the risks for the group.
However, because we have a more diversified business, we can take greater business risk – including developing AAA games. We estimate that nothing will account for more than 5% of our revenue for the coming year, including a AAA game like Saints Row. So we are more confident in this transaction because we believe we can make a reasonable deal out of it.
The licenses obtained in the operation are IPs (intellectual property, editor’s note) video game history. Grave robbers of course, but also deus ex or inheritance from Cain exist for more than twenty years. And for some, the aura just isn’t as strong now as it was when they first came out. It must therefore be understood that, despite the expectations of some players, excessive investment could be unreasonable without the public willing to buy anything. Does this mean that these sagas are wisely left sleeping at the bottom of a drawer?
A secure future for Tomb Raider
That’s not Lars Wingefors’ vision. The CEO, who is also familiar with these wonderful universes, wants to take care of them. “We will take good care of the people and the IPs and if we set reasonable expectations I think we will be pleased with the financial performance as well.” he explains at the magazine’s microphone. He claims to know and see the full potential of his series, opening the door to thunderous returns. Through ports, remakes or remasters or more if affinity. But the questions inevitably relate to costs and assumed profitability.
Shall we do something new? Should we license or work on commission? If the group has a really strong AAA IP – and I’m not necessarily talking about Tomb Raider in this case – it makes things easier. […] You don’t have to multiply your investment by 10 over a given period of time. And you can still work with platform owners, you can enter into collaborations, you can de-risk funding. Of course, you can also port these iconic IPs to other media and other companies, which can give you additional profits.
A sensible talk that lays the groundwork for thinking about the future of these large licenses. We certainly shouldn’t expect a fanfare return from all the sagas Embracer has gotten our hands on, but some might take center stage again. Starting with Tomb Raider, whose future could be bright. Lars Wingefors, reminiscent of Crystal Dynamics, the creators of the 2013 reboot, actually drops this sentence that gives hope for a quick return of the adventurer: “They have incredible plans that I believe in.” And let us hope for new outstanding adventures.
