After months of rumors that Embracer Group was looking for a buyer for Borderlands developer Gearbox Entertainment, the studio has now made it official with a deal worth $460 million to 2K parent Take-Two Interactive. It was to be sold to.
Gearbox was one of Embracer Group's acquisitions worth up to $1.3 billion when it acquired the company in 2021. The deal was contingent on Gearbox reaching certain milestones, so it's unclear how much of Embracer's $1.3 billion it ended up paying beyond the $363 million guaranteed upfront payment. .
Now, Take-Two Interactive is acquiring Gearbox for $460 million, which will be paid in Take-Two stock. The acquisition includes Texas-based Gearbox Software, Gearbox Montreal, and Gearbox Studio Quebec, as well as Gearbox IP, including Borderlands and Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, Risk of Rain, Brothers in Arms, and Duke Nukem.
The sale does not include Gearbox's publishing division in San Francisco, which published Remnant 2 and has publishing rights to the upcoming Hyper Light Breaker and other upcoming titles. The sale also excludes a number of studios Embracer has purchased through Gearbox Software, including Cryptic Studios, Lost Boys Interactive, and Captured Dimensions.
Take-Two said Gearbox will operate as a studio within 2K, which has a long history of partnering with Gearbox on the Borderlands series. Gearbox will continue to be led by Founder and CEO Randy Pitchford and his management team.
“My primary focus has always been Gearbox, including our people and customers,” Pitchford said in a statement. “I want to personally assure fans of our games that this arrangement will make their development experience at Gearbox the best possible.”
“We are thrilled to welcome Randy Pitchford and his team of passionate and talented developers to 2K, and we look forward to working with them on many more projects in the future,” said 2K President David.・Mr. Ismailer said. “We have loved partnering with Gearbox on each version of the Borderlands series and are excited to be actively developing the next installment in the series.”
In a company statement, Embracer co-founder and CEO Lars Wingefors referred to the sale as part of the company's “transition to a leaner, more focused company.” The transaction “reduces business risk and increases profitability,” it said.
After a series of major acquisitions over the past few years, Embracer is now beginning to downsize its operations, resulting in company-wide job cuts, game cancellations, and the sale of some of its assets. It is being said. Last month, it was revealed that Saber Interactive, which is currently developing the Star Wars: KOTOR remake, would be spun off to become an independent company after being sold to a private investor worth $500 million.