You've probably seen the news this morning that Embracer Group has made a major acquisition of Square Enix. In a €240 million ($300 million) deal, Embracer is set to acquire Crystal Dynamics, which is currently working with The Initiative on Perfect Dark.
Fortunately, this acquisition doesn't seem to change that. Although Embracer Group didn't speak about it in its press release, with Crystal Dynamics only referring to the news as "a new chapter in our story," the Microsoft-owned studio spoke about it directly in a Twitter message shortly afterward.
Telling subscribers that he's "excited to see Crystal Dynamics take the next steps with their studio," The Initiative was quick to assure Perfect Dark fans that they would continue to work on this game as joint development partners.
This partnership was first announced in September 2021, when The Initiative confirmed: "The teams couldn't pass up the opportunity to work together. We're still in the early stages of development, but we're incredibly excited to take advantage of this unique opportunity to make the vision of Perfect Black come true."
We are excited to see Crystal Dynamics taking these next steps with their studio. Our teams have made great strides in building Perfect Dark together as joint development partners, and we will continue that work with them in their next chapter. https://t.co/9gG2VGUV8uMay 2, 2022
Read more
However, since development began, the Initiative has seen a large number of senior staff departures. As VGC reported, half of Perfect Dark's core development team quit last year, including game director Dan Neuburger, design director Drew Murray, and lead level designer Chris O'Neill. That would have left The Initiative with just under 50 employees.
With that in mind, Crystal Dynamics is believed to have played a leading role in the development of the Perfect Dark reboot, so the news that the development isn't going to take another hit is reassuring.
Crystal Dynamics has some ongoing projects
Right now, that leaves Crystal Dynamics working on three main games that we currently know of. Along with Perfect Dark, Crystal Dynamics continued to provide post-launch support for Marvel's Avengers. However, as Forbes reported last month, there is currently a lot of doubt about what is happening with its 2022 roadmap, which could be tied to this acquisition.
Embracer also confirmed that this deal includes the "next mainline Tomb Raider game," which was recently announced at Epic's recent State of Unreal event and uses Unreal Engine 5. In April, Tomb Raider franchise general manager Dallas Dickinson , the new engine "translates into next-level storytelling and gameplay experiences.
It's a welcome return to the series for the team, who recently handled Tomb Raider (2013), Lara Croft and the Temple of Orisis, and Rise of the Tomb Raider. As for the latest entry, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, it was developed by Eidos-Montreal, which was also acquired by the Embracer Group along with Square Enix Montreal.
Notably, this acquisition also means that Embracer owns the intellectual property rights to another Crystal Dynamics series, Legacy of Kain, and "more than 50 games from Square Enix Holdings' catalog." Embracer and Square Enix have yet to specify which games they tie into, but there's a good chance we could see other classic franchises return.