Posted November 25, 2023
...might find their way to GOG.
"Embracer Group is a Swedish video game holding company controlled by Lars Wingefors" said user 'Kristijan1001' on Tomb Raider Forums.
This happened in May, 2022. I quote his thread:
Embracer Group AB (”Embracer”) has entered into an agreement to acquire the development studios Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montréal, Square Enix Montréal, and a catalogue of IPs including Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Thief, Legacy of Kain and more than 50 back-catalogue games from SQUARE ENIX HOLDINGS CO., LTD. (“Square Enix Holdings”). In total, the acquisition includes ~1,100 employees across three studios and eight global locations. The total purchase price amounts to USD 300 million on a cash and debt free basis, to be paid in full at closing. Embracer has secured additional long-term debt funding commitments for this and other transactions in the pipeline.
https://www.tombraiderforums.com/showthread.php?t=227162
https://embracer.com/releases/embracer-group-enters-into-an-agreement-to-acquire-eidos-crystal-dynamics-and-square-enix-montreal-amongst-other-assets/
I wonder if this is why 'Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver' to this day is not restored to the store and also the reason Tomb Raider I-II-III Remasters are on the way. This 'news' is 'old', but only now I learned about it and wished to share it here for some reasons:
Square Enix cannot sit on these IPs anymore doing nothing with them (Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Thief, Legacy of Kain..);
This might represent good news for us GOG users depending on what mentality Embracer group has about DRM-Free stores such as GOG;
We can probably try to contact them somehow and convince them to also release the future Remasters here (I deduce that they're not only planning I-II-III remasters, but also IV, V. A remote possibility for Legend, Underworld and maybe the cancelled complete Anniverssary version, but those last ones I unfortunately doubt it.).
Another quote, from Wikipedia this time:
Embracer Group has twelve operative groups as its direct subsidiaries: Amplifier Game Invest, Asmodee, CDE Entertainment, Coffee Stain Holding, Dark Horse Media, DECA Games, Easybrain, Embracer Freemode including its subdivision Middle-earth Enterprises,[5][6] Gearbox Entertainment, Plaion, Saber Interactive, and THQ Nordic.
As you can see, some subsidiaries listed there have their games here already. THQ Nordic and Middle-Earth Enterprises, for example.
By what I've seen in marketing material for the Remasters, though, they're planning to release it for Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Steam and Epic Games Store, with no mention for other stores for now.
The remasters are planned for February next year (2024) and they seem like a good way to introduce this new generation to the old ways of Lara Croft's puzzle platforming.
As we know, there's already a wish list for the Remasters here:
https://www.gog.com/wishlist/games/tomb_raider_iiii_remastered
Vote for it if you will.
If you do have any info on how we might try to contact them on releasing their next Tomb Raider games here, (be it the modern reboot, or the classics remastered) post it here.
If you also have any news about this that Im not aware, please, feel free to update us here too.
Thanks.
"Embracer Group is a Swedish video game holding company controlled by Lars Wingefors" said user 'Kristijan1001' on Tomb Raider Forums.
This happened in May, 2022. I quote his thread:
Embracer Group AB (”Embracer”) has entered into an agreement to acquire the development studios Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montréal, Square Enix Montréal, and a catalogue of IPs including Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Thief, Legacy of Kain and more than 50 back-catalogue games from SQUARE ENIX HOLDINGS CO., LTD. (“Square Enix Holdings”). In total, the acquisition includes ~1,100 employees across three studios and eight global locations. The total purchase price amounts to USD 300 million on a cash and debt free basis, to be paid in full at closing. Embracer has secured additional long-term debt funding commitments for this and other transactions in the pipeline.
https://embracer.com/releases/embracer-group-enters-into-an-agreement-to-acquire-eidos-crystal-dynamics-and-square-enix-montreal-amongst-other-assets/
I wonder if this is why 'Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver' to this day is not restored to the store and also the reason Tomb Raider I-II-III Remasters are on the way. This 'news' is 'old', but only now I learned about it and wished to share it here for some reasons:
Square Enix cannot sit on these IPs anymore doing nothing with them (Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Thief, Legacy of Kain..);
This might represent good news for us GOG users depending on what mentality Embracer group has about DRM-Free stores such as GOG;
We can probably try to contact them somehow and convince them to also release the future Remasters here (I deduce that they're not only planning I-II-III remasters, but also IV, V. A remote possibility for Legend, Underworld and maybe the cancelled complete Anniverssary version, but those last ones I unfortunately doubt it.).
Another quote, from Wikipedia this time:
Embracer Group has twelve operative groups as its direct subsidiaries: Amplifier Game Invest, Asmodee, CDE Entertainment, Coffee Stain Holding, Dark Horse Media, DECA Games, Easybrain, Embracer Freemode including its subdivision Middle-earth Enterprises,[5][6] Gearbox Entertainment, Plaion, Saber Interactive, and THQ Nordic.
By what I've seen in marketing material for the Remasters, though, they're planning to release it for Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Steam and Epic Games Store, with no mention for other stores for now.
The remasters are planned for February next year (2024) and they seem like a good way to introduce this new generation to the old ways of Lara Croft's puzzle platforming.
As we know, there's already a wish list for the Remasters here:
https://www.gog.com/wishlist/games/tomb_raider_iiii_remastered
Vote for it if you will.
If you do have any info on how we might try to contact them on releasing their next Tomb Raider games here, (be it the modern reboot, or the classics remastered) post it here.
If you also have any news about this that Im not aware, please, feel free to update us here too.
Thanks.
Post edited November 25, 2023 by .Keys
