Embracer to sell Saber, Star Wars: KotR remake dev, for $500M

Embracer Group has plans to sell Saber Interactive, one of its largest subsidiaries, to a group of private investors in a deal worth up to $500 million. This transaction would make Saber privately-owned and independent with around 3,500 employees per Bloomberg’s original report.

Currently, Saber is working on a remake of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. BioWare originally released the roleplaying game set in a galaxy far, far away in 2003. Embracer initially announced the remake in 2021 with its subsidiary, Aspyr Media, as the developer in collaboration with Sony Interactive Entertainment. However, the title was delayed the following year and Embracer shifted the project from Aspyr to Saber in 2022.

Following an unprecedented M&A spree, Embracer Group is in the middle of a massive reorg and cost-cutting initiative. The Swedish conglomerate is consolidating its holdings and shuttering a number of studios.

Saber is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida with studios around the world. The studio is best known titles like World War Z and Snowrunner. The developer has several games set to release this year, including Space Marine 2 and Jurassic Park Survival.

Embracer acquired Saber in 2020 for $525 million. Following this acquisition, Embracer folded several of its other new studios into Saber, such as Demiurge Studios and New World Interactive.

As Embracer Group is looking for ways to aggressively reduce costs, this deal allows the company to take some debt off its balance sheet. It’s not clear how many of Saber’s and Embracer’s subsidiaries are included in the deal. Bloomberg indicates that the deal includes the option to bring along other Embracer subsidiaries.