TGO Daily | February 4, 2021 | Embracer Gets Gearbox
February 4, 2021
It’s financials season! For nerds like me, it’s great fun. My apologies if you’re not big on them, but it’s what is in the headlines! And I like to think I’m finding the most interesting bits anyway.
Hope you have a great day <3
Adrian
In The News
Embracer Group Nabs Gearbox
Sources: gi.biz announcement, gi.biz interview
The Embracer Group has made their biggest acquisition yet, taking full control over Gearbox Entertainment. Gearbox will be the eighth operating group under Embracer, adjacent to companies like THQ Nordic, Saber Interactive, and Coffee Stain. CEO Randy Pitchford will remain the head of the company, and all his 500+ employees will join the 5500+ of Embracer.
They were acquired for $1.3 billion, assuming they hit key performance targets over the next six years. (Embracer wants $1.3 billion in revenue over six years, which is ambitious for Gearbox. They’re anticipating a lot of growth). Upfront, they get $363 million.
You probably know Gearbox best for the Borderlands franchise, which they will continue to develop and 2K Games will continue to publish. They also have the Brothers In Arms series, and a prolific publishing arm which they plan on expanding under Embracer.
Pitchford has already hinted that other subsidiaries within Embracer would be interested in using their IP, which is pretty neat.
Sony Q3 Results
Sony reported on their Q3 financials, with their gaming division earning $8.4 billion in the quarter, which is up 25% year-over-year. They also made $762 million in operating profit, which was actually hampered because they set the price point of the PlayStation 5 below the manufacturing costs. So they’re selling the console at a loss. All their money at this point comes from software — physical and digital games, as well as subscription services like PS Plus (47.4 million subscribers) and PS Now.
The PS5 itself sold 4.5 million units during the holidays, despite stocking issues. As we already knew, this makes it the most successful console launch in history. They also sold close to the same amount of copies of Spider-Man: Miles Morales, which launched the same day. Of course, that accounts for both PS4 and PS5 versions.
Total War: Warhammer 3
Creative Assembly announced today Total War: Warhammer 3. They revealed that two new races are going to be added to the series, on top of the other factions from Warhammer 2. Of course it will have a whole new campaign, and they will eventually develop one large map that bridges all three games if you own them.
The game will launch on PC some time this year.
Leaked Goldeneye 007 Game
In 2008, there was a planned remaster for Goldeneye 007 that was going to release on Xbox Live Arcade. It was basically completed, but ended up being cancelled because of rights issues. Microsoft, Nintendo, Activision, and the IP holders to James Bond all had to work together to make it happen, and evidently couldn’t do it.
Today, the full game has been leaked to the internet. It is a near-final ROM, and includes a fully remastered single-player campaign. Much like the Halo: Master Chief Collection, it lets you switch between old and new graphics at the press of a button.
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