UPDATE 12/21/21 1:00 p.m. Central: News of Embracer Group’s acquisitions are coming fast today, with the holding company now also acquiring the North American operations of Chinese media entity Perfect World Co., Ltd. According to an announcement by Embracer, the agreement is for a one-time payout of $125 million for the Perfect World Entertainment publishing arm and developer Cryptic Studios and those companies’ combined 237 full-time employees. You can read the full announcement here.
You may know Cryptic Studios as the company behind Magic: Legends, a multiplayer RPG set in the world of Magic: The Gathering which was canceled before development made it out of the beta phase. However, Cryptic is responsible for other successful MMOs such as Neverwinter and Star Trek Online, both of which it’s still supporting.
Original Story: Embracer Group, the parent company of THQ Nordic, has entered into an agreement to acquire Dark Horse Media, the famed comics company and intellectual property holder of over 300 franchises.
This news comes by way of a new Embracer Group press release, which reveals that “due to commercial reasons the specific transaction terms are not disclosed.” Embracer says Dark Horse will become the tenth operative group within the company, which is continuing to grow thanks to today’s acquisition as well as recent acquisitions of Borderlands maker Gearbox and World War Z developer Saber Interactive.
“Through the acquisition, Embracer strengthens its transmedia capabilities by adding expertise in content development, comics publishing, and film and TV production,” the press release reads. “Dark Horse owns or controls more than 300 intellectual properties, many of which are attractive for future transmedia exploitation, including the creation of new video games.”
Despite the acquisition, current Dark Horse CEO and founder Mike Richardson will continue to lead the comics maker.
“I can’t express the excitement I feel as Dark Horse moves into this new chapter in our history,” Richardson writes in the press release. “The synergies that exist with the Embracer network of companies promises exciting new opportunities not only for Dark Horse, but also for the creators and companies we work with. I’ve had a number of compelling conversations with Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors and I’m very impressed with him and what he and his team have built. I have to say, the future of our company has never looked brighter.”
Dark Horse was founded in 1986 by Richardson with the idea that “writers and artists were treated as partners.” It’s now home to Dark Horse Comics, Dark Horse Entertainment, which is behind series like The Umbrella Academy and Resident Alien, and Things From Another World, a company responsible for the creation of graphic novels, toys, statues, and other types of collectibles.
This acquisition is expected to be completed by early 2022.
Are you excited about the prospects of this acquisition? Are you concerned about what might come of this acquisition? Let us know in the comments below!
