Embracer is selling a large part of Saber Interactive in a deal worth about $500 million

the Embracer band much of Saber Interactive, which is known for the Metro series, Glumhaven and remakes of classic Star Wars titles. The buyer is a group of private investors under the umbrella of Beacon Interactive, which is run by Saber co-founder Matthew Karch.

Although Embracer says the deal is worth $247 million, it’s actually worth about $500 million after liabilities are taken into account, according to of Bloomberg . This is because Beacon is said to have to also purchase 4A Games and Zen Studios (developers of the Metro and Zen Pinball series, respectively).

As you can imagine given these last points, the details of the sale are a bit convoluted. Along with 4A and Zen, the sale includes all Sabre-branded studios, Nimble Giant (Star Trek: Infinity), 3D animation studio Digic, support studio Fractured Byte, PR agency Sandbox Strategies, Mad Head Games (), Slipgate Ironworks (Graven), New World Interactive (the Insurgency series), and publisher 3D Realms.

Embracer holds on to 34 big things (Redout), Shiver (which ported to switch), snapshot (Phoenix Point) and Aspyr, which is behind the recent remaster of the original Tomb Raider trilogy and Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection, which came out on Thursday. The publisher also retains Tripwire (A man-eater), Beamdog (Mythforce), Tuxedo Labs () and Demiurge (Sega Heroes). Embracer-owned publisher Plaion will retain the long-term license and rights to publish PC and console games in the Metro series.

In total, Beacon collects at least 38 ongoing game development projects, along with some proprietary engine technology and game tools. Saber says it will retain 14 games, including Murder floor 3. According to reporter Stephen TotilloBeacon is hiring 2,950 workers and Embracer is keeping 800 (for a total of 14,140 workers).

“Embracer can now wind down all operations in Russia, per a previous board decision, while retaining many developer jobs under new independent ownership,” said Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors. “At the same time, we retain key companies, valuable IP addresses and future publishing rights.”

Embracer bought Saber for $525 million four years ago and has incorporated some later purchases, including Demiurge and New World Interactive, into that division. Since last summer, Embracer has been on a major cost-cutting spree after it (reportedly from a group backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund) went under. The company is also closed 1,387 people in the second half of 2023. It also canceled 29 unannounced games in a six-month period last year. Gearbox (of Borderlands fame) is believed to be .