Gearbox is acquired by Take Two and confirms a new Borderlands game in production

Gearbox finally escapes

It's official, after a series started last September, Embracer Group sells well Gearbox. And you will see how painful the operation is since Embracer bought the studio for $1.3 billion in February 2021 and is selling it today for 460 million. Which is therefore quite a loss, especially since we imagine that Gearbox's revenues were far from compensating this sum between 2021 and early 2024.

Precisely, Take Two acquires the Gearbox Software teams (in Frisco, Texas), Gearbox Montreal and Gearbox Studio Quebec. And the licenses recovered along the way are therefore Borderlands, Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, Risk of Rain, Brothers in Arms, Homeworld And Duke Nukemr. On the other hand, Embracer will retain all the structures entrusted to Gearbox since 2021.

Which therefore concerns the former Perfect World Entertainment (with the licenses Remnant And Hyper Light Breaker), Cryptic Studios (with MMOs Neverwinter Online And Star Trek Online), Lost Boys Interactive (or what's left of it given the layoffs at home) and Captured Dimensions, a 3D modeling company.

Borderlands 4 on the horizon

The takeover should be finalized before June 30, 2024 and we imagine that this will pose much less of a problem for the FTC than many other files. The next step for Gearbox will obviously be the release of the film Borderlands in August but the press release warns us that the studio currently has six projects in progress including 5 sequels.

The most certain is obviously “the next Borderlands » whose active development is confirmed twice in the Take Two press release. The other license mentioned is Homeworld but there inevitably, with Homeworld 3 which comes out in May, it's far from a surprise. And we are also confirmed that the sixth project is a new intellectual property.

It therefore remains to be seen whether the three remaining productions are linked to Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, Risk of Rain, Brothers in Arms Or Duke Nukem. And before you let your bets be placed, know that according to a former employee, Wonderlands 2 reportedly in development since at least 2022.

In short, Gearbox and its fanciful boss Randy Pitchford have not finished making people talk about them. The magician will also remain at the head of the studio which will become one of the teams within 2K. Of course, the man who absolutely refused to belong to a publisher is turning his back today and saying he's excited about the opportunities offered by 2K that will allow his company to reach new heights, but we can't really resent him after a stint at Embracer.