Square Enix and Tomb Raider: This separation is the best for all sides

It was the biggest news of the past week, the headline that the video game world moved the most in turmoil: Square Enix separates from all its western studios! The game forces from Crystal Dynamics, Eidos Montreal and Square Enix Montreal will in future be part of the Swedish Embracer Group, i.e. the group, which, among other things, has already bought video game companies such as ThQ Nordic, Koch Media or Saber Interactive.

• Contents
• Embracer makes a bargain
• freedom for deus ex!
• no trip to the West
• Caution before the blockchain!

As part of the deal, the Scandinavians not only secure 1100 employees at a total of eight global locations. Of course, all brands where the developers have worked in recent years also change the owner. This includes large names such as Tomb Raider, Deus Ex or Thief - but also a catalog of over 50 other games. Even Marvel's Avengers could continue under another tour in the future! Interest on the part of the new owners would be at least there, as CEO Lars Wingefors revealed in an investor discussion. One would only have to agree with Disney's licensors.

Contents

1. 1embracer makes a bargain
2. 2 Freeness for Deus Ex!
3. 3The no trip to the West
4. 4 Caution in front of the blockchain!

Embracer makes a bargain

And what does the Embracer Group pay for this attractive overall package? Läppische $ 300 million! For comparison: For Gearbox software that are similarly large with 1300 employees, but only have a really large brand in the portfolio with Borderlands, last year, 1.3 billion was put on the table - sometimes four times. Among industry analysts, the deal is therefore already an absolute bargain that can only be congratulated.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided ended in 2016 with a nasty cliffhanger. Is the resolution finally coming now? Source: PC Games but the Embracer Group is not the only winner from the whole thing. Because if you look at the sale in detail, then it is actually the best possible solution for everyone involved. Maybe sound strange, but let me explain! First of all, the three studios, which have recently been neglected, also benefit. Square Enix never really seemed so satisfied with the performance of his western branches. Crystal Dynamics and Eidos Montreal looked more like the annoying problem children who could never really do it to the strict parents. Especially not when it came to the financial success of their games produced.

The Deus-Ex series was put on hold after the Mankind Divided, published in 2016, because it was a success with critics, but not at the counter. Guardians of the Galaxy won the prize for the best narrative at the Game Awards last year, but was still a flop in Square Enix. Even the first part of the Tomb-Raider reboot, which sold 3.4 million times in the launch month alone, was stamped as a disappointment. Due to the exaggerated expectations of the publisher, all western productions were actually doomed from the outset. And then the teams were also forced projects that don't suit them at all-live service games like Marvel's Avengers, for example.

freedom for deus ex!

Fortunately, this misunderstanding has come to an end. Under a new leadership, Crystal Dynamics and Eidos Montreal can play games again that they feel like that are not under enormous pressure to succeed and that finally reflect their strengths again. And these are not online grinders with annoying Season Passes and intrusive microtransactions, but strong single player adventures. The new owners apparently know that too. In its official statement on the studio takeover, the Embracer Group will not tire of the qualities of their new acquisitions: Crystal Dynamics is a master in the field of story-based triple-a-action adventures, EIDOS Montreal unbeatable when it comes to memorable gaming experiences with a focus on unique stories and strong characters.

And since Embracer is firmly convinced that there will continue to be a strong demand for such high -quality individual player holding in the coming years, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver and other forgotten brands in the area of the possible are now even revivals. So also good news for us players! The Legacy of Kain series has been in hibernation for almost 19 years. The Embracer deal could change that. Source: PC Games

no trip to the West

And last but not least, Square Enix can take something positive from the whole matter. That may sound a little strange at first. Because of course it can be discussed whether the Japanese could not have got out a little more in the deal. We finally speak of Lara Croft, an icon of video game history. It has to be worth more money!

But you also have to see that the maintenance of western studios was very expensive and hardly profitable. The Marvel games in particular probably tore an enormous hole in Square Enix 'budget: $ 200 million is said to have been powdered for licenses and development costs, industry insiders estimate. Crystal Dynamics nevertheless only completed the 2021 financial year with a profit of almost $ 3.3 million. In the end, there were just $ 640,000 in Eidos. So they didn't really throw off so much, especially compared to other studios, where the winning margin was significantly higher.

With Triangle Strategy, Square Enix already landed another JRPG hit this spring. Source: PC Games recently, the native brands of Square Enix were most and more popular. Nier, Dragon Quest, Kingdom Hearts and the Mana series, but also new IPS like Triangle Strategy were increasingly well received on the western market. As an example, we give 2017, in which the titles from the JRPG area alone provided 24 percent more sales. Or last year's flying flight from Final Fantasy 14, which with his endwalker expansion not only broke the game records, but also his own server, which is why the title had to be taken out of the store in the meantime.

The sale of Crystal Dynamics and Eidos Montreal is purely economically an absolute sensible step. You separate from little profitable contaminated sites, stop hitting the western market on hell and plays more games that meet your own identity. And obviously well! The company boss has been demanding this for some time: In an interview with Yahoo Japan, CEO Yosuke Matsuda recently explained that one should not blindly emulate others, but rather rely on its individuality as strength. "The overseas markets are important, but not so important to develop games alone for them," he said.

Caution before the blockchain!

So now you have the chance to take a successful route that many other Japanese publishers have been driving for a long time: Bandai Namco is increasingly relying on anime pens by One Piece, Digimon and Dragon Ball. Capcom on Resident Evil, Devil May Cry and Monster Hunter. And Konami, well, another topic.

And if the planned restructuring in terms of organization and publishing strategy is not quite as great, in case of doubt you still have a few western brands like Just Cause, Outriders and Life is Strange in the hindquarters. But then they come from third-party studios without exception. So you have to put significantly fewer resources into development and you can invest the money otherwise better.

For Outriders, the second extension of WorldSlayer will soon appear. Source: PC Games should only be careful not to speculate directly again. What the Japanese are planning with the $ 300 million that the Embracer deal brings in sounds a little worrying. As the company said in an official statement, the profit should finance new businesses and investments in areas such as blockchain, AI and the cloud. If that doesn't backfire.

Because whether Square Enix really manages to make things like NFTS and "Play to Earn" models tasty, you can very doubt. And in the worst case, you would not only have to sell a few studios, but then be completely swallowed by another group. I heard that Sony should already be interested.

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