Take-Two Buys Gearbox Entertainment From Embracer For $460M

After months of rumors that Embracer Group was looking for buyers for Borderlands developer Gearbox Entertainment, the studio is now officially being sold to 2K parent company Take-Two Interactive in a deal worth $460 million.

Gearbox was one of Embracer Group’s biggest acquisitions when it bought the company in 2021, in a deal worth up to $1.3 billion. As the deal was based on Gearbox reaching certain milestones, it’s unclear how much of that $1.3 billion Embracer ended up paying out beyond $363 million in guaranteed upfront payments.

Now, as reported by Brian Crecente on X, Take-Two Interactive has purchased Gearbox for $460 million, which will be paid out in Take-Two shares. The purchase includes Gearbox Software in Texas, Gearbox Montreal, and Gearbox Studio Quebec, and will cover Gearbox IP including Borderlands and Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, Risk of Rain, Brothers in Arms, and Duke Nukem.

The sale doesn’t include Gearbox’s publishing arm in San Francisco, which published Remnant 2, and has publishing rights to the upcoming Hyper Light Breaker and other upcoming titles. The sale also excludes a number of studios purchased by Embracer through Gearbox Software, including Cryptic Studios, Lost Boys Interactive, and Captured Dimensions.

Take-Two has said that Gearbox will operate as a studio within 2K, which has a long history of partnering with Gearbox on the Borderlands series. Gearbox will continue to be led by its founder and CEO Randy Pitchford and his management team.

“My primary interest is always Gearbox, including our talent and our customers,” Pitchford said in a statement. “I want to personally ensure fans of our games that this arrangement will ensure that the experiences we have in development at Gearbox will be the best it can possibly be.”

“We are thrilled to welcome Randy Pitchford and his team of passionate, talented developers to 2K and we look forward to releasing numerous projects in the future as colleagues,” said David Ismailer, president of 2K. “We have loved partnering with Gearbox on every iteration of the Borderlands franchise and are excited to be in active development on the next installment in the series.”

In its own statement, Embracer co-founder and CEO Lars Wingefors refers to the divestment as part of a “transition to becoming a leaner and more focused company,” saying the transaction will “lower business risk and improve profitability.”

After a spree of large-scale acquisitions in the last few years, Embracer has now started downsizing, resulting in company-wide layoffs, cancelled games, and divestment of some of its assets. Last month it was revealed that Saber Interactive, which is currently working on the Star Wars: KOTOR remake, would split off to become an independent company, following a sale to private investors worth $500 million.