Gearbox Entertainment is no longer an Embracer studio. The Swedish conglomerate has confirmed its deal to sell the bulk of Gearbox to Take-Two Interactive has been completed.
“On 28 March 2024, Embracer Group AB (“Embracer”) entered into an agreement to divest Gearbox Entertainment to Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. All conditions for the transaction have now been fulfilled, and the transaction has been closed today,” reads a brief press release.
The closing of the deal has seen Embracer issue 8.32 million B shares at a subscription price of SEK 98.78 per share to settle certain earnout obligations related to the transaction. An additional 2.08 million B shares have been issued at a subscription price of SEK 79.30 to cover earnout obligations related to Lost Boys Interactive.
Embracer purchased Gearbox in 2021 for an initial $363 million but said the deal could eventually cost over $1.3 billion. Around three years later, the company chose to divest the studio in a deal worth $460 million.
When announcing the transaction in March 2024, Embracer explained Take-Two would acquire studios including Gearbox Software, Gearbox Montreal, and Gearbox Studio Quebec, alongside notable franchises such as Borderlands, Homeworld, Risk of Rain, Brothers in Arms, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, and Duke Nukem.
Embracer has retained ownership of Gearbox Publishing San Francisco, which has now been rebranded as Arc Games, and the publishing rights to Remnant, Hyper Light Breaker, and other “notable” unannounced titles. It also remains the owner of Lost Boys Interactive, Captured Dimensions, and Cryptic Studios.
Gearbox was sold with Embracer attempting to cut costs after a spending-spree that saw it acquire a litany of studios and franchises. That restructuring plan was announced last year and resulted in Embracer shuttering studios, divesting others, cancelling projects, and enacting mass layoffs.