According to several new reports, both Gearbox Entertainment and Jagex may find themselves up for sale soon. Owners Embracer Group and the Carlyle Group, respectively, are potentially looking to offload the companies.
Gearbox Entertainment, if Embracer Group is indeed planning to look for a buyer, would be a big step in the company’s ongoing restructuring process that has already led to thousands of layoffs and the closure of several companies, including most recently, Volition. That studio closed after three decades in the business throughout its iterations.
Jagex, which is, of course, behind RuneScape, could also be the subject of a new sale. According to a Reuters report, Carlyle is looking at the early stages of a potential sale and they are likely going to look towards an auction process starting sometime late this year. However, the Reuters report also states that a deal isn't certain and any number of factors could affect the possibility. should they go ahead and potentially seek a sale, the company could be valued at £1 billion, or about $1.25 billion USD.
Carlyle bought Jagex back in early 2021 for an estimated $530 million, So if they were looking to complete a sale, there's a lot of potential profit to be had. According to official estimates, Jagex pulls in about £60 million a year and that’s expected to grow. Potential buyers could include private equity firms, which might leverage such an acquisition to acquire other companies.
Gearbox Entertainment, which was also acquired back in 2021 for $1.3 billion, would be let loose as part of the company restructuring that Is expected to continue throughout the year after being announced in the spring. Gearbox Publishing has already seen some layouts, according to a report on the potential sale from GamesIndustry.biz.
It would not be entirely clear what the sale might impact, as some studios and IPs were brought under the Gearbox Entertainment and publishing labels after being acquired by Embracer Group. This includes Cryptic Studios and games like Neverwinter and Star Trek Online.
In a statement to GamesIndustry.biz, an Embracer Group representative said that restructuring is ongoing and “managed locally”, thus they “will not comment on specific studios at this point in time”.
