Gearbox Leisure was one of many corporations Embracer bought throughout its huge shopping for spree that was adopted by widespread layoffs and studio closures. As reported by Kotaku, the Borderlands maker is poised to be offered out, and extra info will likely be shared subsequent month.

Embracer had bought Gearbox for $1.3 billion in 2021. Nonetheless, after buying studios from world wide, the Swedish firm launched an open letter explaining that it’s aiming to turn into a “heavy-investment-mode to a extremely cash-flow generative enterprise,” and this can require “closing or divestments of some studios and the termination or pausing of some ongoing sport improvement initiatives.”

This information doesn’t come out of the blue, as in 2023, a report from Reuters beforehand acknowledged that Gearbox is working with Goldman Sachs and Aream & Co to discover a potential sale and that there’s curiosity from third events. Not lengthy after, a Bloomberg report emerged that Gearbox is planning to both go impartial or switch.

It seems that we’ll discover out extra quickly, as in a city corridor with workers earlier this week, Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford revealed {that a} determination had been made in regards to the studio’s future, in keeping with two of Kotaku’s sources. The studio’s workers haven’t escaped the barrage of layoffs throughout Embracer’s studios, and regardless of Pitchford assuring workers that they wouldn’t expertise the identical destiny, dozens had been let go, and people who had been subjected to freezes on pay raises and hiring. Considered one of Kotaku’s sources claims that they’ve been in search of employment elsewhere “not simply because of the Embracer layoff fears, however resulting from pay.”

There seems to have been friction within the relationship between Embracer and Gearbox, as resulting from Embracer price range shortfalls, “the studio shelved work on some thrilling new initiatives and IPs to focus totally on the subsequent Borderlands video games that are printed by 2K,” in keeping with two of Kotaku’s sources. There are nonetheless initiatives within the works, together with a Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands sequel, however the studio “misplaced senior individuals” resulting from emotions of uncertainty.

Gearbox gained’t be the one studio squirming away from Embracer. In keeping with Bloomberg, Saber Interactive is being offered to a non-public funding group. This comes throughout a 12 months that has seen huge layoffs and studio closures, creating an unsure atmosphere for the whole business.