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Embracer Group may sell Borderlands studio Gearbox Entertainment

Tomas Franzese
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A picture from inside Gearbox Entertainment
Gearbox Entertainment

Gearbox Entertainment — the Texas-based game developer and publisher behind series like Borderlands, Remnant, and Homeworld — has been part of Embracer Group since 2021. That might not be the case for much longer, though, according to some new reports.

Reuters reported on Monday morning that Embracer Group has considered selling off Gearbox Entertainment as part of its restructuring plan. For the past several years, Embracer Group has made a name for itself by constantly acquiring developers, publishers, and IP, but that trend started to go the other way following a failed deal with the Saudi Arabia government-funded Savvy Games Group. Embracer is now laying off developers and shutting down studios. The most recent example of this was the closure of Volition, the Gearbox-owned developer behind the Saints Row series.

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It now seems like Embracer Group doesn’t just want to rid itself of Volition, but potentially Gearbox Entertainment as a whole. While Embracer Group is not commenting on the matter, Bloomberg leaked an internal email from Gearbox’s chief communication officer Dan Hewitt affirming that Gearbox could potentially be sold off or go back to being independent. 

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“The base case is that Gearbox remains a part of Embracer. However, there are many options under consideration, including Gearbox’s transfer, taking Gearbox independent, and others. Ultimately, we’ll move ahead with whichever path is best for both Gearbox and Embracer,” the email states. “Nothing has been decided yet, but there will be a lot of speculation in the coming weeks.”

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Gearbox Entertainment’s fate is currently up in the air, so it’s certainly a company to watch in the coming weeks and months. Regardless, it’s now starkly apparent that Embracer Group’s growth spurt is at an end if it’s considering getting rid of Gearbox despite the success of games like Borderlands 3 and Remnant II.

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Tomas Franzese
Tomas Franzese
Gaming Staff Writer
Tomas Franzese is a Staff Writer at Digital Trends, where he reports on and reviews the latest releases and exciting…
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