Embracer Group, the official holding company of THQ Nordic and numerous other studios, has made a name for itself with a series of aggressive acquisition sprees in the gaming industry, and it seems like this trend is bound to continue for the foreseeable future. Having acquired a new batch of gaming studios and important intellectual properties, Embracer is set to continue expanding its reach in virtually every facet of gaming.
What makes Embracer Group's latest round of acquisitions particularly important, however, is the fact that it's adding the Lord of the Rings IP to its portfolio. Indeed, it is now possible that THQ Nordic may work on producing new LOTR games in the future, but that's just one small part of the broader list of changes and investments the company has been making as of late.
While Embracer announced its plans for more acquisitions a few months back, few could've expected them to be quite as comprehensive. Embracer Group has just announced via official press releases that it bought out Tripwire Interactive, Limited Run Games, Singtrix, Tuxedo Labs, Bitwave Games, and Gioteck, which gives them access to a wealth of established game series such as Killing Floor 2. Embracer has also acquired Tatsujin, which is the company's first Japanese studio, which implies a desire to broaden the company portfolio further still, to cover as many gaming niches as seemingly possible.
The list of everything owned by Embracer Group has, therefore, received yet another substantial update. The company can now draw upon a huge variety of intellectual properties in almost every niche and genre. The press release also points out that there's yet another gaming company that Embracer will acquire in the near future, though its identity hasn't yet been disclosed for commercial reasons.
Embracer has also used this opportunity to announce its 11th operating group: the so-called Embracer Freemode. This branch will focus primarily on retro and classic gaming, which could tie into the older piece of news that Embracer is working on its own game launcher, which was also supposed to lean heavily into the classic video game niche. Given the company's list of investments, it's very possible that it's not going to stop broadening its list of properties just yet and that it aims to position itself as one of the leaders in the industry.
With over 150 games in development at Embracer Group, it's not impossible to see the holding company rise above its relatively humble AA roots. While THQ Nordic itself seemingly remains laser-focused on mid-tier titles with blockbuster leanings, such as Alone in the Dark, Embracer now has access to projects both smaller and substantially bigger than what it started with. If nothing else, its newfound access to the Lord of the Rings IP ought to make things interesting in the relatively near future.