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Saber Interactive, the developer behind the remake of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, is reportedly splitting off from Embracer Group. Borderlands developer Gearbox is also reportedly set to be sold, although the future of both Saber and Gearbox has yet to be confirmed officially.
According to Bloomberg, Saber Interactive is going to become a privately owned company with around 3,500 developers. Embracer Group is reportedly going to sell the studio in a deal worth up to $500 million.
Saber Interactive is also reportedly still continuing development on the Star Wars: KOTOR remake, which was previously under Aspyr Media. Saints Row developer Volition was seemingly going to be sold, too, but the deal reportedly fell through prior to the studio shutting down.
As reported by Kotaku, Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford recently held a town hall meeting updating its approximately 1,300 staff on Gearbox’s status. Pitchford previously indicated to staff that the publisher could be sold to another owner, go independent, or remain in operation under Embracer. The new town hall reportedly revealed that a decision has been made, although just what that decision is was not shared. Kotaku reports the company will be sold, although there are no further details regarding the specifics. Rumors of a sale were circulating back in September when marketing materials were already available for potential buyers, mainly of international gaming groups.
In a statement shared with Kotaku, Pitchford said, “I’m delighted that what we might be up to is interesting enough to people that you want to make a story about us for your readers. I’m honored and humbled that our company is a topic of rumor, speculation, and discussion. As always, we will be thrilled to share whenever we have projects to announce or news to share as we work hard towards our mission to entertain the world.”
Earlier this month, Embracer Group said that it still had ongoing divestment processes, and it seems like Saber Interactive and Gearbox could be some of them.
Embracer Group has been laying off staff in droves and shutting down studios since its alleged $2 billion investment from a Saudi-backed fund fell through. The studios include like the newly revived Free Radical Design.
GameSpot reached out to Saber Interactive but it declined to comment.
This story has been updated to reflect that Randy Pitchford did not indicate that a decision has been made to sell Gearbox.
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