Embracer Group has announced that it has sold Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 publisher Saber Interactive.
This sale was rumored as early as last month, but the two studios have now confirmed it. In a press release, Embracer says it will "divest selected assets" from Saber for $247 million. The buyer is Saber co-founder Matthew Karch's company Beacon Interactive.
Assets included in the sale consist of all Saber-branded studios, as well as developers like New World Interactive, 3D Realms, and Nimble Giant, according to Embracer's press release.
In Embracer's press release, the company says that it's granted Beacon an "option right" to acquire Metro developer 4A Games and Pinball FX studio Zen Studios for a "fixed price".
According to Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, this constitutes "misleading" wording; Saber is acquiring 4A and Zen as well, but the purchase is happening through options. Essentially, Embracer's statement is using financial jargon, and 4A and Zen are making the jump with other Saber studios.
However, Embracer does say that it still holds the license for "all current and future PC/console games in the Metro franchise" through its subsidiary Plaion (formerly Koch Media), so those rights don't belong to developer 4A Games.
Some Saber studios are being retained by Embracer, too, including Tomb Raider and Star Wars: Battlefront remaster developer Aspyr, Planescape: Torment Enhanced Edition developer Beamdog, and Killing Floor studio Tripwire.
According to Embracer, its "retained pipeline", i.e. the projects still under development at Embracer after the deal, include two projects being developed in collaboration with Saber.
These include 4A Games' next AAA project, as well as Killing Floor 3, a new AAA shooter "based on a controlled IP", and an "unannounced concept phase AAA game".
Saber Interactive's sale comes at a time when Embracer is engaged in major downsizing operations, including laying off employees at studios like Eidos Montreal, 3D Realms, and more, constituting around 8% of its workforce at last count.
Embracer's downsizing spree also includes the closure of studios like TimeSplitters' Free Radical Design and Saints Row's Volition, although veterans from the latter have banded together to form a new studio that's currently working on a project with Xbox Game Studios.
Stay tuned for more on all things Embracer, Saber Interactive, and everything else pertaining to the gaming industry.
