The most curious thing about the acquisition, and that is generating a lot of conversation in the industry, is that Square Enix got rid of these assets for only 300 million dollars. Yes, you read right. At a time when other industry giants have thrown the house out the window acquiring studios and IPs for stratospheric amounts, it is striking that those in Japan have gotten rid of their studios and franchises for such a figure.
Do you have any explanation? Although we are talking about titles known by the vast majority, the reality is that Square Enix's western games are not a best-seller. Not even Tomb Raider, which despite how entertaining its latest trilogy is, did not meet financial expectations. This contrasts too much with his oriental projects, which usually succeed even beyond Japan.
"It's worth noting that these expectations are always backed up by something tangible, and in Square Enix's case, it's the costs associated with running the studio and developing the game. Simply put, they spent too much and underperformed." , mentioned Daniel Ahmad, renowned industry analyst.
Square Enix and its interest in the blockchain
Another interesting point is that Square Enix plans to invest the proceeds from the sale in blockchain, artificial intelligence, and cloud-based technologies. This, they say, will help them "enhance corporate value and accelerate the growth of the company's core businesses in the digital entertainment domain."
"We are delighted to welcome these studios to the Embracer Group. We recognize the fantastic intellectual property, world-class creative talent and track record of excellence that they have demonstrated time and time again over the past decades. It has been a great pleasure to meet leadership teams and discuss future plans on how they can realize their ambitions and become a great part of Embracer."
Lars Wingefors, co-founder and CEO of the Embracer Group.
Adding Tomb Raider and Deus Ex is not anything. In fact, Eidos Montreal is currently working on a new Tomb Raider game, which will be developed in Unreal Engine 5. Regarding Deus Ex, unfortunately, there does not seem to be a project in the works, although this could change soon under the umbrella. from Embracer Group.
One positive news from the sale is that the aforementioned franchises will remain multi-platform. Accordingly, for now we can take a breather from the intense discussions about exclusive games.
