Embracer CEO: "We Don’t Have Central, Commercial Decision-Making"

The Swedish holding Embracer Group has become one of the largest European gaming companies in just a few years and it keeps expanding. Since the beginning of 2020, the company has made 62 different gaming acquisitions, including Gearbox Software, 3D Realms, and Aspyr Media, at a total cost of $8.1 billion.

Currently, Embracer has 115 internal game development studios and 10 operating groups including THQ Nordic, Koch Media/Deep Silver, and Saber Interactive. Talking to Finacial Times, Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors shared that the company intends to make a similar number of acquisitions. 

When being asked how he manages to keep track of a company with so many studios, Wingefors clarified that he simply doesn't. According to the CEO, Embracer's strategy is to find partners which are led by successful entrepreneurs and leave the business at their disposal without interfering with work processes.

"From a commercial standpoint, we don’t have central, commercial decision-making," Wingefors said. "Looking at other companies, they’ve struggled when they put too many layers of directors and management and start controlling creators, that’s when they start falling apart."

Wingefors also noted he doesn’t want the company to rely on one particular release when there are several dozens of others. "If you can make one game, you have a big business risk but if you make 200 games, like we do, the business risk is less," he said.

The CEO shared that the holding's next acquisitions will target newer markets such as free-to-play games. The company also aims to expand into countries like the UK, the US, Poland, France, and China.

You can learn more about Embracer Group and its strategy by reading the original interview with Lars Wingefors. Also, don't forget to join our new Reddit page, our new Telegram channel, follow us on Instagram and Twitter, where we are sharing breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.