The Embracer Group’s $2 billion mystery funding partner that disappeared and left the company out to dry is reportedly Savvy Games Group, which is a Saudi government-funded company.
According to Axios, Savvy was reportedly looking to get involved with game publishing with The Embracer Group in order to establish itself as a major gaming label. However, the report is unclear about why Savvy Games Group walked away from the deal.
SCOOP: The mystery partner who walked away from a $2 billion deal with the Embracer Group (Tomb Raider, LOTR, Saints Row) last May was the Saudi government-funded Savvy Games Group.
— Stephen Totilo (@stephentotilo) August 14, 2023
Big implications for both parties.
My story:https://t.co/YIMLqZhhKI
Back in May, The Embracer Group revealed that it saw a major partnership fall through at the last moment, even though it had received a verbal commitment in October 2022. The partnership would have given The Embracer Group more than $2 billion in contracted development revenue over a period of six years. Embracer was also careful not to name who the partner was at the time, which is now reportedly Savvy Games Group.
Because of this deal falling through, Embracer decided to close studios and lay off staff. Campfire Cabal, a studio tasked with taking over the Expeditions series, was among those impacted. Crystal Dynamics, which is working on separate Perfect Dark and Tomb Raider projects, has been spared from the impact.
Savvy Games Group is part of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, or the Public Investment Fund (PIF). Last year, PIF invested in Nintendo and now owns about 5% of the company. Saudi Arabia has invested in Take-Two Interactive and Electronic Arts as well.
George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. He's been writing about the industry since 2019 and has worked with other publications such as Insider, Kotaku, NPR, and Variety.
When not writing about video games, George is playing video games. What a surprise! You can follow him on Twitter @Yinyangfooey
