After a financially tumultuous year, it looks like Embracer Group is preparing to sell Borderlands developer Gearbox Entertainment. Rumors of a potential sale first emerged late last year, and according to a new report, a deal is currently being finalized.

Borderlands boss Randy Pitchford responds to Gearbox sale report

An update on Gearbox’s status was provided by Kotaku. The website’s sources claim that studio CEO Randy Pitchford held a town hall earlier this week, during which he said that a decision was made regarding Gearbox’s future. Kotaku claims to have heard that a sale is currently being finalized. However, it’s not known at present who the buyer is.

In response to Kotaku’s request for comment, Pitchford released somewhat of an odd statement, expressing his delight over his company being the subject of rumors and speculations. “I’m delighted that what we might be up to is interesting enough to people that you want to make a story about us for your readers,” he said. “I’m honored and humbled that our company is a topic of rumor, speculation, and discussion.”

Pitchford added Gearbox will be “thrilled” to reveal what’s next when it has some news to share.

Elsewhere, Embracer Group is also selling Saber Interactive.

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Development on the troubled Star Wars: KOTOR Remake looks set to continue soon after reports claimed that developer Saber Interactive will split from Embracer Group. The developer will become a privately owned company and plans to continue the game’s development once the deal is complete.

Saber Interactive may get help from other studios on Star Wars: KOTOR Remake

Saber Interactive is set to be sold to a group of private investors in a deal worth up to $500 million according to sources who spoke to Bloomberg. This figure would also allow Saber Interactive to take multiple Embracer subsidiaries alongside them to help with the development of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake.

While part of Embracer Group, several other companies have already been merged into Saber Interactive; these include Demiurge Studios and New World Interactive. However, the sources did not specify which companies could be leaving Embracer alongside Saber.

The deal will be part of cost-cutting measures at Embracer Group following a failed $2 billion investment from a gaming group associated with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund. This triggered a spate of layoffs and game cancelations.

Star Wars: KOTOR Remake was rumored to be one of those canceled games. Originally in development at Aspyr Media, development seemed steady until a vertical slice demo of the game was shown to Lucasfilm and Sony. Initial reports suggested both companies were happy with the game’s progress, but then Aspyr’s design director and art director were fired shortly after.

The game was delayed indefinitely before development was transferred to Saber Interactive, who had been assisting Aspyr Media with the remake. Rumors suggested development had ceased completely, although Embracer has always refused to confirm whether these rumors were true. The split from Embracer means Star Wars: KOTOR Remake development finally gets a chance to be completed.

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Reports emerged yesterday that Eidos Montreal was working on a new Deus Ex game that has since been canceled, followed by layoffs across the studio. While Eidos didn’t comment on the canceled game, it did confirm that nearly 100 team members have been let go by parent company Embracer Group. Tidbits of information are now starting to emerge about the canned project.

What we know about the canceled Deus Ex game… so far

According to Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, the unannounced Deus Ex was being worked on for at least two years, and it was slated to enter production later this year. The existence of a new Deus Ex has long been speculated but the news still came as somewhat of a surprise because Adam Jensen voice actor Elias Toufexis continued to ask fans not to hold their breath for a new entry, presumably in part because Mankind Divided failed to match the commercial performance of its predecessor, Human Revolution.

Now, Toufexis has taken to Twitter to reiterate that at no point over the past two years was he contacted or booked by Eidos Montreal, and thus there’s a “good chance” that the canceled Deus Ex didn’t feature Jensen.

It’s unclear what the future holds for Deus Ex, which the embattled Embracer Group purchased from Square Enix along with Eidos Montreal.

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Swedish gaming company Embracer Group has canceled a new video game in the Deus Ex series that was in development for two years and is also planning to lay off a number of employees.

The news was first reported by Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier and notes that the Eidos Montreal-developed game will no longer be moving forward after two years of development. According to Schreier, Embracer also plans to lay off an as-of-yet unspecified number of employees as part of its initiative to cut costs.

Eidos Montreal later confirmed the news in a tweet, revealing that 97 employees had been let go from the development team, administration, and support services. In their statement, the company points to “the global economic context” as reason for the moves.

Eidos confirms the news in a statement

“For the last 17 years, our teams at Eidos have worked on some of the most beloved brands in the industry, combining deep storytelling and innovation into unique games,” reads the statement. “We have created memorable multi awarded experiences that we are proud of and we know our teams members have put their heart and soul in all of them.”

Eidos went on to say that their commitment is still to their players and that they will continue to try and deliver great experiences to fans.

“We are working to support all impacted personnel through this transition,” Eidos said in its statement. “These very talented, highly experienced people are entering the employment market, and we want them to find their next projects and are helping to do so.”

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A report has emerged that Destroy All Humans and Teengage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin developer Black Forest Games has laid off almost half of its work force. The layoffs happened under the direction of parent company Embracer Group, which has been battling financial issues for a year now.

TMNT: The Last Ronin’s release date is still a few years away

Report of the layoffs came from Kotaku, who counted nearly 4,000 games industry job cuts just 24 days into 2024. According to the publication, Black Forest informed staff about the layoffs yesterday (January 24). More information will reportedly be provided to concerned staff next week, and we’re assuming that’s when an official announcement will be made.

A source familiar with Black Forest told Kotaku that creative directors and “most if not all” managers will keep their jobs — no one else is safe. It’s currently unclear how God of War inspired TMNT: The Last Ronin will be impacted by these layoffs. The dark, mature game isn’t expected for another couple of years but with only half of Black Forest left, it remains to be seen just how long it’ll take to release, if it does see the light of day.

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Former Free Radical developers have begun sharing art from the canceled TimeSplitters revival alongside previously unknown game information. Following a month of rumors, embattled company Embracer Group announced the closure of Free Radical — the second instance of the studio closing its doors in 24 years.

Cancelled TimeSplitters revival was pitched as a Fortnite clone

Images of TimeSplitters’ art have been circulating on social media and gaming forums and can be viewed below:

One developer went as far as giving an anonymous interview to Fandom, which the site published as part of Free Radical’s Wiki page after verifying the employee’s identity.

According to the developer, TimeSplitters’ revival was originally pitched as a “Fortnite clone” battle royale game with additional modes like Team Deathmatch and an iteration of Capture the Flag called Capture the Bag. The game — which was apparently still a ways away from release — was meant to be a free-to-play title.

Interestingly, the employee claims that the battle royale pitch was made in order for the game to be greenlit but once it entered production, Free Radical started moving away from the battle royale concept. They also claim that director Steve Ellis never intended to make a battle royale game to begin with.

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The TimeSplitters remake has likely been canceled after an Embracer company email stated developer Free Radical Design could be closed next month. The publisher’s recent restructuring process has seen a number of studios closed and several game projects canceled, and it seems like TimeSplitters is about to join that list.

TimeSplitters developer is in the closure consultation process

Following rumors of the developer’s closure a few days ago, parent company Embracer has sent out an internal email that acknowledges the possibility of this. The email, as seen by VGC, sees company CEO Lars Wingefor confirm Free Radical is facing closure on December 11:

As we move through the consultation process and face the potential closure of Free Radical Design on 11 December 2023, I want to express my gratitude for your commitment and the remarkable work you’ve done and still keep doing. This is a challenging time for all of us but especially for you, and our focus is to support you as much as we can during this transition.

Free Radical is a UK studio and the country’s employment laws require Embracer to consult the studio’s employees for a minimum of 30 days before they can make any redundancies. This gives time for the exploration of ways to avoid closure, such as another company taking over the studio.

By September 30, 2023, Embracer’s restructuring process had seen 900 employees lose their jobs. This includes “discontinuing a number of studios,” such as Saints Row developer Volition, as well as layoffs at Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics and Remnant 2 publisher Gearbox. The company has also “reduced the number of projects in several other studios”, and while the names of those projects have not been officially revealed, it seems like the TimeSplitters Remake is one of those.

Just today, layoffs were also announced at Chorus developer Fishlabs. Parent company Plaion, which is itself owned by Embracer, confirmed the loss of 50 jobs in a statement to Eurogamer. The studio’s upcoming game, known internally as Project Black, has also ceased development as the remaining members of the team move on to existing co-development projects.

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Development on Star Wars: KOTOR Remake has seemingly ground to a halt at all of Embracer Group’s studios. This likely spells cancellation, according to the latest reports.

The rumors are fueled by Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors’ refusal to talk about the game during the company’s latest financial earnings investor call.

Star Wars: KOTOR Remake is “not being worked on right now”

The Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake is “not being worked on in any way at any studio” according to renowned industry insider Jeff Grubb on the latest Game Mess Mornings podcast. During the latest Embracer Group investor call, as transcribed by Seeking Alpha, the publishing group’s CEO refused to clarify the game’s status, simply saying “I noticed that anything I say to this becomes a headline, so that is my only comment.”

The game was delayed indefinitely in 2022. Developer Aspyr Media previously created a vertical slice demo of the game to show to Lucasfilm and Sony. While initial reports suggest both companies were happy with the game’s progress, Aspyr’s design director and art director were fired shortly after.

Star Wars: KOTOR Remake was then passed on to Saber Interactive, the developer that assisted Aspyr Media with the remake. According to Grubb, development was then transferred again to another unnamed Embracer studio before being halted completely.

Since then, Sony has been removing all traces of the PS5 exclusive from the internet, including Twitter and Youtube, although the official reason for this is expired licensing rights on the trailer’s music.

The remake wasn’t the only project to be canceled at Aspyr Media. Development was also halted on the Restored Content DLC for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II on Nintendo Switch. In a recent court case filing, as spotted by Axios, Aspyr said it “believed it would be able to release the content, but a third party objected and Aspyr was unable to do so”. The identity of the third party is unclear.

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Embracer Group COO Egil Strunke has announced his departure after a tumultuous year for the company. Following a series of high profile acquisitions, Embracer spent most of 2023 shedding staff. It also shuttered Saints Row developer Volition, which had been in operation for 30 years.

Embracer Group COO acknowledged “rough year” before stepping down

In a lengthy note on LinkedIn, Strunke acknowledged a “rough year” for Embracer and pinned the blame on “general market changes.” Rumor has it that Embracer’s financial troubles began when a major deal with a Saudi Arabian company fell through.

“My history with the group spans across two four-year stints, first 2011-14 – the early foundational days with acquiring assets from Jowood and THQ and planting the seeds to what we then didn’t know would become Embracer Group,” Strunke wrote, adding that despite a difficult year, he remains positive that “Embracer will come out stronger and with a long, bright future ahead of them.”

Strunke isn’t leaving the games industry. Instead, he has founded Strunke Games and his goal is to “support and be involved in some of the most interesting gaming studios, companies and projects around the globe as the games industry continues its constant change.”

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Update: Sony has told IGN that it was delisted because it “[delists] assets with licensed music when the licenses expire.”

It looks like the PS5 exclusive Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR) Remake is in trouble. Fans have noticed that Sony has been busy scrubbing any mention of the game and its trailers from its social media accounts, including Twitter and YouTube.

What’s going on with PS5’s KOTOR Remake?

Announced as a timed PS5 console exclusive in 2021, KOTOR Remake was originally in development at Aspyr Media in collaboration with Sony Interactive Entertainment and LucasFilm. Its troubles started as early as May 2022 when parent company Embracer Group announced that Saber Interactive had joined the project. Shortly afterward, the game was delayed as Aspyr fired two of its directors.

Rumors then emerged that Embracer had moved KOTOR Remake to a different studio, and reports followed that the game was entirely being developed at Saber Interactive. Since then, there’s been no word on the project or its development progress.

It’s unclear when Sony started removing the game from its social media channels, but given Embracer Group’s recent financial troubles and widespread layoffs and restructuring, things aren’t looking good for the KOTOR Remake. There’s no indication that the game has been canceled, but it doesn’t look like it’ll see the light of day anytime soon.

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