Gearbox may become an independent studio once again

This morning, it came to light that Embracer Group was considering selling off Gearbox Entertainment, two years after acquiring the company in a deal worth roughly $1.4 billion. Now, a leaked email from Gearbox leadership to staff shows this as being true, although the company may just go independent once again.

Gearbox joined Embracer Group in 2021 as one of several major acquisitions. However, after acquiring so many new studios and finding it difficult to land a big hit, Embracer is now a bit financially squeezed. This has led to an internal restructuring effort that will see layoffs at studios, complete closures of other studios and some will potentially be sold off to competitors.

As reported by Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, Gearbox Chief Communications Officer, Dan Hewitt, sent an email to staff today stating that right now, “Gearbox remains part of Embracer”, but added that “there are many options under consideration, including Gearbox's transfer, taking Gearbox independent and others”.

Nothing has been decided yet, so this may be all smoke with no fire. However, it would seem that Embracer needs some quick cash and selling Gearbox, either to another publisher or back to Randy Pitchford, might be the easiest way for them to get it.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru Says: Embracer famously admitted to losing out in a major $2 billion investment a while ago and that appears to have been a big turning point for the company. While before, Embracer was buying up IP and studios left and right, now, they are in a situation where they quickly need to shed some financial load to stay afloat.

Become a Patron!