LogIn"But in my mind, nobody has been guided by more of a sense of fairness and reasonableness than Lars."
Image credit: Saber Interactive, World War Z
When we talk about Embracer, the only thing that comes to mind first is its quick and large expansion and ruthless layoffs of hundreds of people after a failed deal with Saudi Arabia's Savvy Games Group.
However, Matthew Karch, Founder and current Head of Saber Interactive, says that Lars Wingefors, CEO of Embracer, "gets a bad rap" for recent events and is being overly criticized. According to Karch, the company let go of not a bigger number of employees than other big corporations, and Wingefors made efforts to maintain as many jobs as he could.
"But in my mind, nobody has been guided by more of a sense of fairness and reasonableness than Lars. The process that we've had to go through to terminate studios has absolutely been... it's killed us," Karch said to GamesIndustry.biz. "I say 'us' even though I'm no longer part of the company because I feel like… I mean, I still have shares, I still have close relationships and good friends, and obviously, the best wishes that they succeed over there. But I would say Embracer tried harder than anybody to save as many jobs as it could."
Image credit: Volition, Saints Row
Karch also confirmed that the $2 billion deal between Embracer and Savvy Games Group, a Saudi Arabian investment firm, fell through in May 2023.
Karch explained that Embracer didn't actually need this deal, but felt pressured by the market's demand for rapid and substantial expansion at that time. Therefore, the company sought to finalize an agreement in the hopes of boosting its financial stability.
Although Embracer had high hopes for the deal with Savvy Games Group, Karch admits that the company may have relied too heavily on it. While preparing for this partnership, certain divisions within Embracer halted their operations instead of actively seeking other potential partners.
Nevertheless, Karch reported that Embracer's management has since been able to address and resolve the situation.
"But I wouldn't bet against Lars right now. He's really on top of it. I haven't heard him this confident in a long time and I think they've made the company small enough – still big, but small enough – that it's manageable... They have some great stuff that I know of in the works that's unannounced that I think people are gonna love."
Don't forget to join our 80 Level Talent platform and our Telegram channel, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.
Keep reading
You may find these articles interesting