After cancelling new Deus Ex and TimeSplitters games, Embracer Group says it’s now looking to make new Deus Ex and TimeSplitters games… again.
Despite how many franchises Swedish conglomerate Embracer Group has under its belt, most people likely aren’t even aware it exists, since despite its spending spree it’s barely released any major video games of note. And even the successes it does have, such as Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, are associated more with the actual developers.
Those who do know its name probably don’t view it favourably, since it’s home to fan favourite franchises such as Deus Ex and TimeSplitters, which Embracer snapped up with the intent to breathe new life into them, only to continue neglecting them anyway.
As such, it’s important to remain sceptical now that Embracer has come out to say it’s ‘actively’ looking into capitalising on its less prominent game franchises, via partnerships with third party studios.
This comes from a recent announcement that Embracer is splitting itself in two, to set up Fellowship Entertainment, which will oversee Embracer’s core ‘AAA IPs,’ like Tomb Raider and, of course, The Lord Of The Rings.
They call them core but the only Lord of the Rings game they’ve licensed is the farcically awful Gollum and the only Tomb Raider games so far have been remaster of the originals.
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‘Apart from the largest IPs we will more actively be exploring external partnership around our roster of other well-known IPs,’ explains Lars Wingefors, who serves as executive chair of the board of directors after stepping down as CEO last year.
The IPs Wingefors namedrops include not just Deus Ex and TimeSplitters, but also Saints Row, Legacy Of Kain, Red Faction, and Thief. Taken at face value, it sounds like Embracer wants to shop these franchises around outside studios rather than handle them internally.
It’s difficult to take Embracer’s word for it, though, given its track record. The company has cancelled a lot of projects over the years, including a new Deus Ex, a Legacy Of Kain reboot, and a TimeSplitters revival.
That last was especially painful when Embracer had helped resurrect original developer Free Radical Design specifically to make a new TimeSplitters, only to shut the studio down before the game was ever finished.
In the case of Deus Ex, Saints Row, and Red Faction, perhaps the reason Embracer’s decided to pass these onto external studios is because the original developers aren’t in a good position to helm them anymore.
Deus Ex developer Eidos-Montréal has been hit with so many lay-offs and reportedly scrapped a number of projects, that it’s basically just a support studio now, helping out Microsoft with its Fable reboot and Grounded 2.
Saints Row and Red Faction developer Volition, meanwhile, no longer exists, as it was closed following the poor critical and commercial reception of its 2022 Saints Row reboot.
All of this has contributed to a less than stellar reputation for Embracer among those that do know its name, prompting accusations of mismanagement. In fact, this isn’t the first time it’s split itself into multiple companies in a bid to improve its gaming business.
Just two years ago, Embracer announced it was turning itself into three standalone companies; one of which would be responsible for AAA game development and major franchises like Tomb Raider and The Lord Of The Rings.
That company was dubbed Middle-Earth & Friends before being renamed into Fellowship Entertainment… which is now being spun-off into its own company… again.
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