Game publisher Square Enix is selling the studios behind the Tomb Raider and Deus Ex franchises to streamline its business and fund new investments in AI and blockchain. Square Enix has entered into an agreement with the Swedish Embracer Group to sell Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montreal, and Square Enix Montreal, including the rights to games such as Tomb Raider, and Deus Ex, and the recent hit Guardians of the Galaxy.
Embracer Group has agreed to pay the publisher $300 million to acquire properties such as Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Legacy of Kain, and Thief, as well as game studios Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montreal, and Montreal. Embracer Group has acquired many studios and intellectual property in recent years, including the recent purchase of Dark Horse Comics and the $1.3 billion acquisition of Gearbox, the studio behind the Borderlands franchise Gearbox, and the Borderlands franchise. Embracer Group will buy all three studios for $300 million (a paltry sum compared to Microsoft’s $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard), giving the company access to beloved franchises like Tomb Raider and Dues Ex. The publisher’s said it had agreed to sell its Western studios and the intellectual property of the Swedish holding company Embracer Group, including the Tomb Raider franchise, for just $300 million.
The game publishing giant is selling to Embracer Group, Western studios Eidos, Crystal Dynamics, and Montreal as well as franchises developed by Western studios Eidos including Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, and Thief, the companies announced on Monday. Crystal Dynamics is working on a new next-gen Tomb Raider game which is in development, powered by Unreal Engine 5 that will move production from Square Enix to Embracer Group, we just hope this acquisition doesn’t affect its shape or form in any way. The Tomb Raider-like shape is perhaps the only thing that Square Enix hasn’t messed up in recent years.
Well, Square Enix never appreciated the intellectual properties of Tomb Raider, however, as well-received, well-reviewed, and as good as the games made by Crystal Dynamics (Rise of the Tomb Raider, Marvels Avengers) are, Eidos Montreal (Marvels Guardians of the Galaxy, Shadow of the Tomb Raider) and Square Enix Montreal (Hitman Go, Deus Ex Go, Lara Croft Go), The studio has always considered the performance of these games to be poor and below expected. We’ll have to wait for more information about the sale of the IPs to comment on the future and how will it affect Square Enix’s 2022 release slate.
