The Embracer Group, formerly known at THQ Nordic AB, has acquired World War Z and The Witcher 3 Switch developer Saber Interactive for a deal potentially worth over a half a billion dollars.
“Saber has been on our radar for a very long time because of their deep history of consistently high-quality work,” said Embracer Group CEO Lars Wingefors in a statement. Saber is best known as a support studio but also for high-quality ports including the impressive Witcher 3 port for the Nintendo Switch.
Saber also branched into original projects and self-publishing including developing World War Z in 2019.
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“Over the course of 19 years as an independe3nt developer, Saber has had its share of suitors. With Embracer Group, we’ve at last found the perfect partner,” said Saber co-founder and CEO Matthew Karch.
The deal involves Embracer paying 150 million dollars upfront for Saber, plus up to 375 million over the next three years based on performance. This means the deal could potentially reach $525 million. For context, Sony bought Insomniac for $229 million, though business acquisitions are rarely a one-to-one comparison and there could be many factors for Saber’s valuation.
THQ Nordic AB, the parent of companies like THQ Nordic and Deep Silver, renamed itself Embracer Group in August 2019. The Embracer Group holds the rights to games like Darksiders, Saints Row, and more from studios like Volition, THQ, and Coffee Stain Studios.
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By acquiring Saber, Embracer Group adds a renowned but rarely seen, studio to its portfolio. And after critically-acclaimed work, it seems Embracer is promoting Saber’s strategy of self-publishing games.
Read IGN’s review of Witcher 3 on Switch here. Meanwhile, Embracer Group will re-release more games like Spongebob: Battle for Bikini Bottom and Saints Row sometime in the future.
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Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN.
Source: IGN Video Games All
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