AN AUDIENCE WITH…LARS WINGEFORS

Embracer’s CEO explains the story behind the company’s explosive expansion

- Alex Spencer

Only a year or two ago, Embracer wasn’t a name familiar to many videogame followers – most likely because the company’s only gone by that name since 2019, when it rebranded from THQ Nordic – but it’s long been one of the biggest, if quietest, players in the industry. At latest count, it has 222 games in development across 127 internal studios, and a headcount of 14,800 employees.

But if once we could have characterised Embracer as a hidden leviathan, the past year has put an end to that, thanks to a series of high-profile acquisitions. In that time, it’s bought up the western operations of Square Enix, along with the rights to Tomb Raider, Deus Ex and Thief, alongside a host of smaller developers, from Killing Floor creator Tripwire to Teardown micro-dev Tuxedo Labs. That’s been bolstered with a number of acquisitions outside of videogames, beginning with board gaming giant Asmodee for a sum of €2.75bn, and the following week Dark Horse, publisher of Hellboy, Sin City, Umbrella Academy and many other well-known comics. But perhaps the biggest surprise of all was saved for this August, as it scooped up MiddleEarth Enterprises, the rights holder for Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit, as part of a £500m bundle of acquisitions announced all at once.

While this all-you-can-eat approach to M&A has been discussed at length in the usual industry hangouts, Embracer itself remains somewhat enigmatic. Here, CEO