Embracer Group’s run of acquisitions may have finally come to an end. This week the Swedish video game and media holding company, which has made countless headlines buying up everything from the IP rights to Lord of the Rings to the studios behind Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, and Borderlands, announced it would be “restructuring” in an attempt to make itself “a leaner, stronger and a more focused, self-sufficient company.
The implication? The era of big spending is coming to an end; it’s time to make money from its investments. While the CEO’s open letter vaguely points towards “the worsening economy and market reality” as being to blame for the restructuring, you don’t have to look far for more concrete causes. Just weeks ago Embracer announced that a “transformative” $2 billion partnership it had been negotiating had fallen through.