Saber Interactive, the developer and publisher working on projects such as Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic – Remake, has officially been sold by Embracer Group. This comes in the wake of a Bloomberg report and updates to its website indicating a sale was imminent. The $500 million deal will encompass Saber and some of its owned studios, such as 4A Studios (developer of the Metro series) and Zen Studios (Pinball developer).
As reported by VGC, the sale is to a private investor group under Beacon Interactive, which is owned by Saber Interactive co-founder Matthew Karch. However, it doesn’t sound like every company Saber has acquired is making a clean break. Saber will keep studios Nimble Giant, 3D Realms, Sandbox Strategies, New World Interactive, Slipgate Ironworks, Mad Head Games, and Fractured Byte. However, Embracer will maintain ownership of Tripwire, Beamdog, Tuxedo Labs, Demiurge, Shiver, Snapshot Games, 34BigThings, and perhaps most notably, Aspyr, which had previously been assigned to work on the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake after working on ports of the original two games.
The irony is that the KotOR remake was originally an Aspyr project but was reportedly transferred to one of Saber Interactive’s European studios in 2022. This means Saber gets to take what has arguably been one of Embracer Group’s most-anticipated projects with it in the sale. Sources told Bloomberg the project is still in the works as of November and will be part of the sale. Embracer will still retain publishing rights to some games in development, while at least two will be considered joint projects with Beacon Interactive. The full breakdown is as follows:
All of this follows massive layoffs at Embracer Group’s various studios, as well as the cancellation of nearly 30 games in the course of six months. This has included shutting down Saints Row developer Volition and canceling a new Deus Ex game. Embracer has been devouring other studios for the past few years and has basically nothing to show for it beyond a reputation for ruining everything it touches. Kotaku reported in February that Borderlands developer Gearbox may be close to escaping Embracer’s, well, embrace, as well.
