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Gearbox Entertainment may be for sale

A new report says Embracer Group is considering a sale of the Borderlands studio.

Donovan Erskine

September 11, 2023 7:15 AM

Gearbox Entertainment

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It was only two years ago that Embracer Group acquired Gearbox Entertainment, giving it full ownership of the studio behind Borderlands and a slew of other IP. However, we could soon be seeing Gearbox under new ownership. As Embracer Group continues to restructure and reexamine the state of its business, a sale of Gearbox could be on the table.

The report comes directly from Reuters, which spoke to three people familiar with the situation. According to the report, Embracer Group is working with Goldman Sachs and Aream & Co to coordinate the sale and has already received interest from a handful of potential buyers.

The reported interest in selling Gearbox is the latest chapter in the overall restructuring happening at Embracer Group. This restructuring was announced after a $2 billion acquisition fell apart in May, which sent the company’s shares tanking. Interestingly enough, it was later revealed that the mysterious deal was with Saudi-backed Savvy Gaming. Last month, Saints Row developer and Embracer subsidiary Volition officially closed its doors after thirty years. The restructuring also led to numerous other layoffs and game cancellations.

Most recently, Gearbox released Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, a Borderlands spin-off that focused on the beloved titular side character. The studio has also published a plethora of games over the past few years, including Remnant 2, Have a Nice Death, and Tribes of Midgard. It’s worth noting that Reuters’ sources indicated that there is a solid chance that a deal doesn’t get done and Gearbox stays with Embracer. If Gearbox were to get dealt, it’d be fairly significant shift in the industry. Stick with Shacknews for everything on the business side of the gaming world.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a journalist from Maryland. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge film fanatic and will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_