Embracer's collapsed $2bn "major strategic partnership" was reportedly with Saudi Arabia funded Savvy Games

A new report from Axios has shed fresh light on Embracer Group's mysterious $2bn "major strategic partnership" which collapsed spectacularly back in May, causing its shares to drop by 40 percent and sending the company into cost-cutting mode.

At the time, Embracer - the enormous umbrella corporation which owns more than 100 studios including Borderlands developer Gearbox, publishing groups such as THQ Nordic, Koch Media and Saber Interactive, and franchises such as Tomb Raider and Deus Ex - explained it had reached a verbal commitment in October 2022 that would have resulted in more than $2bn "in contracted development revenue over a period of six years." However, at the 11th hour, Embracer said it "received a negative outcome from the counterparty".

While Embracer declined to confirm who its proposed partner was at the time of its announcement, a new report from Axios, citing "four sources familiar with the deal", claims it was the Saudi government-funded Savvy Games Group, the gaming-focused arm of the Saudi investment fund set up by the hugely controversial Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Axios says the proposed deal would have seen $2bn being invested in the development and publishing of games from Embracer, but adds its sources were "less certain about why Savvy walked away".

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