Embracer Group, a conglomerate of game companies from Sweden, has announced the sale of Gearbox Entertainment to Take-Two Interactive for $460 million, entirely in Take-Two stock.
Gearbox Interactive, a U.S.-based game studio founded by Randy Pitchford in 1999, initially made a name for itself with the creation of sub-episodes of Half-Life (Opposing Force and Blue Shift) before expanding to develop its highly successful series, Brothers in Arms and Borderlands. The company was later acquired by Embracer in 2021.
However, following the acquisition, Embracer faced financial difficulties, leading to significant layoffs and the closure or sale of certain studios. Prior to this, they had recently sold Saber Interactive back to its original founders. Gearbox had also been rumored to be up for sale, culminating in the recent agreement with Take-Two.
In this latest sale, Embracer will retain some parts of the original Gearbox group, including Gearbox Publishing San Francisco (formerly Perfect World Entertainment), ownership rights to game franchises like Remnant and Hyper Light Breaker, as well as some studios like Cryptic Studios, Lost Boys Interactive, and Captured Dimensions.
Randy Pitchford, the founder of Gearbox, stated that selling to Take-Two was the best course of action and reassured fans that he would remain with Gearbox to ensure the continued success of their game releases.
Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Take-Two, as the new owner, expressed confidence in the longstanding partnership with Gearbox (2K Games, a subsidiary of Take-Two, distributes the Borderlands games) and pledged to utilize Take-Two’s resources to further develop Gearbox’s potential. Gearbox will now become another studio under the 2K Games umbrella alongside Rockstar.
TLDR: Embracer Group sells Gearbox Entertainment to Take-Two Interactive for $460 million in stock, ensuring continuity of operations and future game development.
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