Borderlands will continue to be owned by Gearbox and 2K despite the Embracer Group purchase

Randy Pitchford, CEO of Gearbox, has stepped up to clarify everything related to the Borderlands saga.

A few hours ago we echoed a new acquisitive movement in the world of video games. Embracer Group, parent company of THQ Nordic or Koch Media among others, announced the purchase of Gearbox Software, a company responsible for games such as the Borderlands saga. After the disbursement of 1.3 million dollars, fans of the saga of first person action have begun to wonder if that would be the end of the adventures of the treasure hunters, Claptrap and company. If you were in that group, you can stay calm.

The doubts arose from statements by Randy Pitchford, CEO of Gearbox, in which he said that 2K had “certain rights” to the Borderlands saga. Some media asked him to better explain those statements about who the license belonged to, and the head of the company himself has said, in statements to GamesIndustry, that Embracer’s purchase “does not change 2K’s relationship with Gearbox or our role as editors of the Borderlands saga“.

The IP is from Gearbox – you can read the legal line at the bottom of any Borderlands productRandy Pitchford, CEO of Gearbox“If we think specifically of Borderlands, we love our relationship with Take-Two and the 2K Games label and are committed to working together through all the known and planned Borderlands work that we have in place, “says Pitchford, reaffirming that his studio will continue to work closely with 2K even though they are now owned by the Embracer Group conglomerate.” This will continue and we will create new opportunities together. Sometimes there are people who are the right group to help maximize the potential of these creative endeavors that we have. We are absolutely open to these relationships, “he says.

Pitchford also does not deny that there is some complexity about it with the 2K deals, although he insists that “It’s pretty clear that Gearbox owns the franchise”. The head of Gearbox concludes by saying that “we have a relationship with Take-Two in which we have agreed certain rights for the exploitation of intellectual property. The IP is a Gearbox IP: you can read the legal line at the bottom of any product of Borderlands “.

Embracer Group purchases

Embracer Group, in addition to taking over the rights to sagas like Borderlands that have more than 60 million games sold, are taking control of many industry studies. Not long ago it acquired the studio responsible for Shadow Warrior 3 and, shortly after, did the same with the creators of the Metro saga.

Now, in addition to the aforementioned Gearbox purchase, they also take control of Aspyr Media for 550 million dollars; a studio known for creating ports, which will become part of Saber Interactive. And also with Easybrain, known for puzzle and logic games, for 640 million dollars plus 125 in variables.

More about: Borderlands and GearBox.