It was perhaps THE news in the games industry yesterday: Square Enix is selling some of its best-known brands to the Embracer Group. But what else does Square Enix actually have to offer? Some well-known brands will be retained.
Embracer Group acquires some major brands from Square Enix. Accordingly, the series Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Thief and Legacy of Kain will have new owners in the future. This also applies to the responsible development studios that will leave Square Enix. These are Crystal Dynamics, Eidos Montreal and Square Enix Montreal.
However, Square Enix has by no means given up all of its brands. Rather, the developer and publisher is keeping numerous series that are relevant in the western world. This has now been emphasized once again in a press release. What series of games are still with Square Enix after the deal? First of all, there’s the wacky action series Just Cause, but also Life is Strange and the relatively young Outriders brand. The Square Enix Collective, which focuses on indie titles, will also remain part of the company.
Going forward, the company’s development function will include studios in Japan, Square Enix External Studios and Square Enix Collective. “Overseas studios will continue to release franchises like Just Cause, Outriders and Life is Strange.”
Before the partial sale, Square Enix was dissatisfied with its western studios and the performance of non-Japanese brands like Tomb Raider, Deus Ex or Marvel’s Avengers. All recently published titles in this series fell short of expectations in terms of sales. That’s why the mentioned studios and brands were sold for 300 million US dollars.
The Spotlight trailer goes into more detail about the upcoming Worldslayer expansion to Outriders.
