Borderlands developer Gearbox reportedly "close" to being sold by Embracer
It has been reported that Embracer Group is finalizing a deal to sell Gearbox to another company, following claims that multiple parties were interested in the developer last year.
The details:
According to a new report from Kotaku, Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford held a meeting with employees this week, confirming that Embracer had decided to sell the studio, with more details regarding the situation coming this month.
The report also claims that Pitchford had informed staff multiple times in recent months that the studio’s options were to either remain under Embracer, buy itself out and become independent, or be sold to another parent company.
In response to the report, Pitchford did confirm or deny the claims, but told Kotaku that he is “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” and said that Gearbox will be “thrilled” to share information about its activities in the future.
It is unknown which company is involved in the deal, but last year, at the height of Embracer's ongoing restructuring program, it was reported that several third parties were interested in potentially acquiring the developer. Take-Two was one suspected buyer, with CEO Strauss Zelnick declining to comment on "potential transactions" when asked if the publisher was interested, citing its long-standing Borderlands publisher deal.
More gaming news:
Toys for Bob, the studio behind recent Spyro and Crash games, has announced that it will go independent after nearly two decades with Activision.
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