Embracer announces merger with Borderlands creator Gearbox

This makes Gearbox the seventh company under the Embracer umbrella.

What you need to know

• Embracer Group, a video game holding company, announced that it will be merging with Gearbox Entertainment
• Gearbox will continue to operate independently.
• It'll be the seventh company under Embracer, joining the likes of THQ Nordic and Saber Interactive.

Embracer Group, the parent company of studios like THQ Nordic, Koch Media, and Saber Interactive, announced early Wednesday morning that it'll be entering a merger with Gearbox Entertainment. The deal can amount to up to $1.3 billion.

The press release, posted on Embracer's website, states that the deal will allow Gearbox to collaborate with Embracer and use its resources to continue develop games and franchises.

The deal seems to include both Gearbox Software, the developer side, and Gearbox Publishing. This also includes Gearbox's film and TV projects, including the in-development Borderlands movie. Interestingly, it includes mention of a Duke Nukem movie, which we haven't heard rumblings about since 2018.

CEO Randy Pitchford will continue to lead the company, which will still operate as an independent studio. The press release also states that all other Gearbox employees will make the move and become shareholders in Embracer.

"The feeling at Gearbox is that we are just getting started and this transaction is not merely a stimulant for the talent of our employee-owned company, but a propellent for the exciting future we have planned," Pitchford said in the statement.

This deal will make Gearbox the seventh subsidiary in Embracer's portfolio. The others are THQ Nordic, Koch Media (which publishes games under Deep Silver), Coffee Stain Studios, Amplifer Game Invest, Saber Interactive, and Deca Games. According to its website, it has over 5,500 employees and contractors across the world. That means first-party Gearbox franchises like Borderlands and Homeworld and published games like Hello Neighbor and Godfall will be under the same umbrella as Metro: Redux, Remnant: From the Ashes, World War Z, and a lot more.

Borderlands is continuing to be a success for Gearbox. Take-Two Interactive announced in May that the game crossed 10 million copies sold. On the other side, its 2016 FPS hero-shooter Battleborn was taken offline on Jan. 31.

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