Embracer Group will go down as an example of buying too much too quickly and then flailing. The parent company of comic publisher Dark Horse has announced that it is splitting into three companies. They are, Asmodee Group,Coffee Stain & Friends, and Middle-earth Enterprises & Friends. Each entity will be a separate, publicly listed company.
The three groups have been described as:
- Asmodee – the new entity will be comprised of the tabletop gaming portfolio of Embracer.
- Coffee Stain & Friends sounds like it’ll be focused on video games.
- Middle-earth Enterprises & Friends will also be focused on video games as well as the steward of The Lord of the Rings and Tomb Raider intellectual properties, among many others.
Dark Horse Comics will fall under Middle-earth Enterprises & Friends which will also include Crystal Dynamics, Dambuster Studios, Eidos-Montréal, Flying Wild Hog Studios, Tripwire, Vertigo Games, Warhorse Studios and 4A Games among many others. Dark Horse was purchased by Embracer in December 2021.
Embracer Group has been fumbling after recently teasing a major financing deal fell through and ever since the company has been selling off game studios and properties. It had become an entertainment juggernaut buying up video game studios, tabletop game studios, and Dark Horse, of which cross synergy has been lacking.
You can read the full announcement here including how the companies will be broken up.
Source: Graphic Policy
