Embracer grabs Crystal Dynamics + Eidos Montreal + Square Enix Montreal for $300 million! This isn't just
Tomb Raider,
Thief, and Deus Ex (no no no)... this includes over 50 back-catalog games.
Square-Enix seemed to have set their sights too high when it comes to certain games like Marvel Avengers and the recent Guardians of the Galaxy. You might recall that their CEO (Yosuke Matsuda) felt that Japanese devs fall short when trying to emulate Western games, but I'm instead of just placing IPs in a closet never to be seen again... at least they're being sold off (finally).
A few things happened in the past that were hints at this sale happening. Square Enix wasn't happy with the performance of Hitman, and Deus Ex back in 2017... and IO Interactive decided to go their own way with the Hitman IP to keep it alive. I think it was awesome for the Hitman developer to make that move, and it was less pressure from corporate.
I wouldn't say Embracer Group is a bad home for these dev teams and their IPs because it shouldn't be when you consider their reach and willingness to adapt, but I hope the new home is even better for the developers and gamers. Currently, Crystal Dynamics is working on a brand new Tomb Raider game (which the franchise has limitless potential in my opinion) + we can't forget about the Microsoft X Crystal Dynamics Perfect Dark reboot.
I would say that Epic Games should've considered placing their hat in the race also... if they want to become a bigger threat as far as PC gaming platforms are concerned, but I wouldn't want there to potentially be restrictions on where the games would be available. Epic is still in the mix with several Eidos Montreal projects being developed with the Unreal Engine 5... so hopefully, it's a win-win for all (especially the gamers). We don't know what that full list of games is that were acquired, but one was Legacy of Kain. I highly doubt Parasite Eve would be part of the package, but one could dream... especially if Square Enix doesn't do anything with it. They annoy the crap out of me with that. Do something with it... do a crowdfund if you don't believe in it, sell it, let someone else work their magic with a remake, collab with Capcom, whatever... make something awesome!