New report reveals possible reason for Square Enix to sell almost all of their western franchises and developers.
Embracer Group will be taking over both Guardians of the Galaxy and Marvel’s Avengers from Square Enix. The sale of Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, and studios like Crystal Dynamics, Eidos Montreal, and Square Enix Montreal has been a shock to everyone. This has left them scratching their heads as to why they would do that desperate move.
Senior MST Financial Analyst David Gibson (via Metro) speculates the reason for such a move. He thinks Square Enix lost a lot of millions on Marvel’s Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy, specifically $200 million.
While there were other reports saying it was to make Square Enix more attractive to bigger companies to acquire them, Gibson suggests the reason simple: Square Enix has had enough of the North American developers. They do not want to lose any more money and they would like to gain back as much as they can. Selling these franchises and studios was the right choice if true. Gibson also thinks selling them to invest into blockchain technology is just silly.
Last night in an investor call, the Embracer Group has announced that they would take over as publisher of both Marvel’s Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy, but they would have to wait for Disney’s approval. No word if Embracer Group is planning to fund Avengers since it is a live service game that needs constant new content.