Gearbox Entertainment has a new owner as Embracer Group is selling the studio to Take-Two Interactive for $460 Million.
The $460 million will be paid out, in full, as newly issued Take-Two shares.
As part of the sale, Take-Two will receive Gearbox Software, Gearbox Montreal, and Gearbox Studio Quebec. From a games standpoint, the company will receive rights to the Borderlands and Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands franchises along with Risk of Rain, Brothers in Arms, Duke Nukem, and Homeworld.
As part of the announcement, it was revealed that Gearbox currently has new Borderlands and Homeworld games in development.
Embracer will retain Gearbox Publishing San Francisco, which will be renamed prior to official closing of the deal. In addition to the single Gearbox studio, Embracer will keep Cryptic Studios along with Neverwinter Online and Star Trek Online, Lost Boys Interactive, and Captured Dimensions.
“Today’s announcement marks the result of the final structured divestment process and is an important step in transforming Embracer into the future with notably lower net debt and improved free cash flow,”  Lars Wingefors, co-founder and CEO of Embracer., said via press release.
“Through the transaction, we lower business risk and improve profitability as we transition to becoming a leaner and more focused company. After evaluating several options for Gearbox, I am happy that we have reached a solution that is in the best interest of all stakeholders. Randy and the team have been great team members throughout the past years, and I would like to thank them all for that. As one of the world’s greatest games developers, I am confident that Gearbox will continue to innovate and thrive in their new home within Take-Two.”
“Our acquisition of Gearbox is an exciting moment for Take-Two and will strengthen our industry-leading creative talent and portfolio of owned intellectual property, including the iconic Borderlands franchise,” said Strauss Zelnick, Chairman and CEO of Take-Two via release. “This combination enhances the financial profile of our existing projects with Gearbox and unlocks the opportunity for us to drive increased long-term growth by leveraging the full resources of Take-Two across all of Gearbox’s exciting initiatives.”
Embracer adds that the selling of Gearbox will reduce the net debt of the company by $300-$330 million.
With moving on to Take-Two, Gearbox will continue to be led by studio founder and CEO Randy Pitchford, the company says. It will work as a subsidiary studio within 2K.
“Joining forces with Take-Two Interactive and 2K will help Gearbox ascend to our next level,” Pitchford said. “Take-Two and 2K have demonstrated repeatedly their commitment to our engine of generating creativity, happiness, and profit. We set the bar for interactive entertainment and achieved remarkable results with groundbreaking, record-setting games when we worked together at arm’s length as partners. I’m incredibly excited about what we can accomplish now that we’re fully aligned as one.”
Prior to the announcement, rumors of Take-Two purchasing Gearbox have been around since fall 2023. In February, it was reported by Kotaku that Gearbox was set to be sold in March, something that has happened at the buzzer.
The closing of the transaction is expected to take place during Q1 of fiscal year 2024/2025.
What do you think of Take-Two Interactive buying Gearbox Entertainment? For more Insider Gaming, check out the leaked images of the upcoming all-white Xbox Series X.
