Meet the new people in charge of Lord of the Rings and Tomb Raider games.
Video game holding company Embracer Group is officially splitting itself up. Today (20 May), Embracer announced that it plans to spin its franchises off into another company: Fellowship Entertainment, to be created in 2027. This new group will operate as an “IP-led” company focusing on developing, publishing, and licensing new games.
Most importantly, Fellowship Entertainment is now set to take on some of Embracer’s biggest IPs: Lord of the Rings, Tomb Raider, Darksiders, Kingdom Come Deliverance, Dead Island, and Metro, among others.
Why is Embracer Group splitting up and creating Fellowship Entertainment?
Embracer Group is making a big change. Embracer Group AB’s board of directors announced today its intention to separate the group into two publicly-listed companies: Embracer and Fellowship Entertainment. The board of directors explained that this was being done to “further increase management focus to capture the full potential of the high-quality assets in the group and accelerate value creation.”
Here’s the lowdown: Fellowship is planned to be established in 2027, and will function as a largely standalone company that inherits Embracer’s more well-known gaming IPs: Darksiders, Dead Island, Kingdom Come Deliverance, Metro, Remnant, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, Tomb Raider, and more.
Additionally, the following studios will move under the Fellowship umbrella: 4A Games, Crystal Dynamics, Dambuster Studios, Dark Horse Media, Eidos-Montréal, Fishlabs, Flying Wild Hog Studios, Gunfire Games, Middle-earth Enterprises, Redoctane Games, and Warhorse Studios.
This means that the upcoming Tomb Raider games, Tomb Raider: Catalyst and Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, would theoretically be published under Fellowship Entertainment–though that remains unconfirmed as of now, as the company is only set to be established next year. A new Kingdom Come: Deliverance game, as well as a new Middle-earth game, have also been announced to be in development at Warhorse Studios.
What’s going to happen to Embracer?
Embracer is going through some changes, following its spin-off into Fellowship Entertainment. The company now aims to be supported by a more “efficient structure,” with game companies like Aspyr, Beamdog, CrazyLabs, Deca, Demiurge, DPI Merchandising, Limited Run Games, Milestone, PLAION Partners, PLAION Pictures, THQ Nordic (including 35 studios and subsidiaries), Tripwire, and Vertigo Games remaining under its umbrella.
A couple IPs will also remain with Embracer, including Arizona Sunshine, Biomutant, Destroy All Humans!, Desperados, Gothic, Killing Floor, Kingdom of Amalur, MX vs. ATV, REANIMAL, Ride, Screamer, Titan Quest, and Wreckfest. Licenses for Hot Wheels Unleashed and SpongeBob SquarePants will also stay with Embracer.
Embracer now looks to pursue more mergers and acquisitions, while Fellowship focuses more on its gaming studios and existing franchises. A couple of behind-the-scenes staff changes are also happening. Embracer Group’s CEO Phil Rogers and COO Lee Guinchard will become CEO and COO of Fellowship Entertainment, respectively.
Embracer is now on the hunt for a new CEO and CFO, as a result.
