Gearbox franchises can be used by other developers after the Embracer merger

following the acquisition of the Borderlands Gearbox studio by Embracer Group for $ 1.3 billionGearbox director Randy Pitchford said the deal could mean other studios belonging to Embracer Group could end up making games with Gearbox properties. interview with VentureBeat, Pitchford reaffirmed that Gearbox is still working on Homeworld 3 in partnership with Blackbird Interactive, but the continuation of the franchise “has only scratched the surface” of the company’s plans.

“The plans are an array of games developed in-house with Gearbox IP, games developed in-house with the original Gearbox IP, external partners who are both release partners, where we release them in a relationship of second part, and then there are also other developers also working on Gearbox IP, ”he said.

“This can grow, especially as we start to interact without friction with other members of the Embracer group who have some interest. There are a lot of people who would like to work on Gearbox IP, and Gearbox would like to help some members. of the Embracer group games that could be more powerful in other markets be published more effectively in North America. ”

Have you played Borderlands 3?

YESNO

Other studios in the Embracer group include THQ Nordic, Saber Interactive, Koch Media, DECA Games, Amplifier Game Invest and Coffee Stain Holding, as well as Aspyr Media and Easybrain – which it acquired today alongside Gearbox. With these companies, Embracer has access to properties such as World War Z, NBA Playgrounds, Dead Island, Metro Exodus, and Shadow Warrior.

Aside from the possibilities for existing Gearbox properties, Pitchford said elsewhere in the interview that he believes the financial backing from Embracer Group will allow the studio to pursue more new games, and in particular riskier ideas than it does. had been before.

“We have so many new intellectual property concepts in our incubator that are ready to explode,” he said. “We could wait for the right publishing partner who is willing to bet, rather than just taking a risk on something they know Gearbox has done before. The editors who took a risk on us for what we want to see next have always been but for some reason they can’t be comfortable with that kind of risk. Now we can take that risk.

“We don’t need to burn the boats to do it. When Epic made their deal, they ended up selling Gears of War to Microsoft. They burned the boats to show they could do something you didn’t expect from Epic before, and [gaming] took Fortnite out of that. We don’t have to do that. We can maximize the intellectual property that we have and seek new intellectual property as a result of that relationship. It’s incredibly exciting for me. I feel like we are just getting started. “

The most recent title developed in-house by Gearbox was Borderlands 3 in 2019, although he also posted and helped with recent releases including Trover Saves the Universe, Godfall, and Risk of Rain 2.

Most recently, Gearbox released the Psycho Krieg and Fantastic Fustercluck DLC for Borderlands 3, which our opinion called a “bizarre odyssey” which “holds a great boss battle but few other surprises.”

Rebekah Valentine is a journalist at IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.