Marvel's Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy Developers Officially Have New Owner

It is now officially official: Marvel's Avengers developer Crystal Dynamics and Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy developer Eidos-Montreal are now owned by Embracer Group. The acquisition from Square Enix of the developers as well as Square Enix Montreal and intellectual property like Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Thief, and Legacy of Kain was announced earlier this year, but it was officially completed today, August 26th.

All told, Embracer Group acquired all of the above for $300 million. "We are thrilled to welcome these studios into the Embracer Group," said Lars Wingefors, Co-founder and Group CEO of Embracer Group, when the deal was first announced. "We recognize the fantastic IP, world class creative talent, and track record of excellence that have been demonstrated time and again over the past decades. It has been a great pleasure meeting the leadership teams and discussing future plans for how they can realize their ambitions and become a great part of Embracer."

"Embracer is the best kept secret in gaming: a massive, decentralized collection of entrepreneurs whom we are thrilled to become a part of today," said Phil Rogers, formerly Square Enix America and Europe CEO, in that initial announcement. "It is the perfect fit for our ambitions: make high-quality games, with great people, sustainably, and grow our existing franchises to their best versions ever. Embracer allows us to forge new partnerships across all media to maximize our franchises' potential and live our dreams of making extraordinary entertainment."

Rogers is now leading the new operative group, the 12th for Embracer, composed of the newly acquired studios. Embracer Group has specifically said that "further information" about what happens in the wake of the acquisition will be shared at a later date. For now, it is simply business as usual but with a new parent company.

What do you think about Square Enix selling the studios and IP to Embracer Group? What sort of video games do you hope to see from Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montreal, and what was previously Square Enix Montreal now? Let us know in the comments, or feel free to reach out and hit me up directly over on Twitter at @rollinbishop in order to talk about all things gaming!