Embracer Group has announced that it is entering an agreement with Project Golden Arc that will result in the ownership of Arc Games and Cryptic Studios transferring to the latter company. The agreement, according to the announcement, is noted as being worth around $30 million, and Embracer Group will still hang on to the publishing rights for the Remnant franchise. Rights to co-op multiplayer dungeon crawler Fellowship will also stay with Embracer Group, and will eventually be transferred to its Coffee Stain Group spin-off.
A statement by Embracer Group CEO Phil Rogers noted that the major reason for this deal was so that the company could improve its cash flow while still hanging on to its main priorities of maintaining core IPs.
“This transaction supports our key priorities by strengthening our focus on strategic assets and core IPs in Embracer while improving profitability and free cash flow,” said Rogers. “The deal also allows online multiplayer game Fellowship, developed by a talented external team in Stockholm, to find a great home within Coffee Stain Group. I would like to thank the teams at Arc and Cryptic for their hard work over the past four years and wish them all the best as we are confident they will thrive and develop in the years ahead.”
The new owner of Arc Games – Project Golden Arc – is comprised of the company’s own management team. Among the games it has published are Remnant: From The Ashes and Remnant 2, Torchlight, Hyper Light Breaker, and most recently, Fellowship. Cryptic Studios has also worked with Arc Games in the past since it has worked on the Arc Games-published MMORPGs Star Trek Online and Neverwinter.
While the long-term fates of all of these games are currently unknown, one of the few titles to which Embracer Group is holding on to the rights for – Fellowship – will continue its development by studio Chief Rebel. The title, released as an Early Access game on Steam back in October, will see continued development under the stewardship of the studio, with its core development team numbering in at around 35 employees.
Embracer Group had announced that it would be spinning off Coffee Stain Group back in May. As a result of this spin-off, Embracer Group will see its name changed to Fellowship Entertainment. The spun off Coffee Stain Group will take with it 250 employees, along with a host of studios, including Tuxedo Labs, Ghost Ship, and Amplifier Game Investment. The spun-off company will also take quite a few IPs with it, including Deep Rock Galactic, Goat Simulator, and Satisfactory, among others.
Once Embracer Group officially turns into Fellowship Entertainment, the company plans on transforming its business into one that can handle game development and publishing, as well as the development of new IPs that can then be spun off into transmedia properties like merchandise, comics and film. The company will retain ownership of companies like 4A Games, Aspyr Media, Crystal Dynamics, Dambuster Studios, and Deca Games, among many others. In the meantime, also check out the company having announced earlier this year that co-founder Lars Wingefors was stepping down as CEO.
