In an interview with Variety, Jennifer Salke, Head of Amazon MGM Studios, was asked about a possible acquisition that could shake the entire gaming industry to its core. Her response is fueling the rumor mill.
What acquisition is being discussed? In fact, the interview from variety.com with Jennifer Salke, Head of Amazon MGM Studios, was about current and upcoming projects for Amazon Prime like the Lord of the Rings series or Tomb Raider.
Since Amazon is collaborating with the Swedish Embracer Group on several ventures, the question unexpectedly arose: “Embracer, which has had a rough time in the last 18 months, currently owns most of Tolkien’s intellectual property. Could it be that Amazon might acquire the company?”
Jennifer Salke’s answer was surprising as it did not provide the expected denial: “We are continuously discussing such possibilities, but I have nothing to share about this [as of now].”
Embracer and Amazon are collaborating on Lord of the Rings – The Rings of Power:
A historic acquisition
Why is the acquisition on the table? Variety’s question hinted at it: The Embracer Group has experienced turbulent years. After a nearly finalized billion-dollar deal fell through, the decision-makers of the Swedish media company had to implement strict austerity measures.
This resulted in extensive layoffs, studio closures, project cancellations, and a restructuring of the entire company into three independent publicly traded entities:
- Middle-Earth Enterprises & Friends (here lie the key brands for blockbuster productions: Lord of the Rings, Tomb Raider, Metro, Dead Island, or Kingdom Come: Deliverance) – this unit includes among others Plaion, Crystal Dynamics, Eidos Montreal, and Fishlabs
- Asmodee Group (board games, trading cards, tabletop)
- Coffe Stain & Friends (PC, mobile, and console games with small to medium (double-A) budgets) – this unit includes among others THQ Nordic, Black Forest Games, and HandyGames
In other words: Embracer is struggling on one side, but on the other hand, it possesses a wealth of valuable IPs and studios. Additionally, the division into three autonomous units increases the likelihood that an interested buyer may acquire one or two parts of the company in the coming months.
What would this mean for Amazon? Even now, Amazon uses various brands like Lord of the Rings and Tomb Raider through partnerships with Embracer to produce new games or films/series. By acquiring just Middle-Earth Enterprises & Friends, they would have direct access.
However, the acquisition would also significantly expand Amazon’s gaming sector. In the financial report for Q1 2024, the PC and console gaming sector alone consisted of 243 IPs, 5,438 employees, and 66 internal studios. This would also include the mobile and tabletop sector.
Amazon Games would then have access
- to the rest of the Cryptic Studios and MMORPGs like Star Trek Online and Neverwinter
- to upcoming games like Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, Gothic Remake, Titan Quest 2, and Perfect Dark
- to prestigious projects for Tomb Raider and the Lord of the Rings MMORPG, which would then move into their ownership
Even if Amazon were to “only” acquire Middle-Earth Enterprises and thus the rights to the Lord of the Rings universe, it would be a significant statement. Jennifer Salke’s statement could indicate that something is just a matter of time. More about Embracer: The corporation wants to fully focus on Lord of the Rings after extensive layoffs – Amazon’s MMORPG is just the beginning
