After Gearbox Entertainment CEO Randy Pitchford all but denied rumors that Embracer Group was selling them off earlier this month, a press release now confirms that the Swedish video game holding company did just that. Most of Gearbox and its exclusive IPs have now been acquired by Take-Two Interactive in a $460 million stock deal.
Gearbox Entertainment is now part of Take-Two’s 2K division including Gearbox Software, Gearbox Quebec, and Gearbox Montreal, as well as the Borderlands, Homeworld, Brothers in Arms, Risk of Rain, and Duke Nukem franchises. Embracer, on the other hand, retains ownership of Cryptic Studios and its MMOs, including Champions Online, Neverwinter, and Star Trek Online. It’s also keeping Gearbox Publishing San Francisco, Captured Dimensions, and Lost Boys Interactive.
Take-Two’s press release also revealed that Gearbox is currently working on six unannounced projects which include new Homeworld and Borderlands games and “at least one exciting new intellectual property.”
Gearbox’s sale is part of a company-wide restructuring and cost-cutting at Embracer Group in the aftermath of a failed $2 billion partnership deal with Saudi Arabian video game and esports company Savvy Games Group. The ongoing restructuring has already resulted in mass layoffs at several of Embracer’s studios, the closure of a few others, and the sale of Saber Interactive to Beacon Interactive just two weeks ago.
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