Embracer Group Acquires Lord Of The Rings IP Rights And Multiple Studios

Embracer Group has reached an agreement to purchase Middle-Earth Enterprises from The Saul Zaentz Company, meaning the industry giant will have the worldwide IP rights to J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.

“I am truly excited to have The Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit, one of the world’s most epic fantasy franchises join the Embracer family, opening up more transmedia opportunities including synergies across our global group. I am thrilled to see what lies in the future for this IP with Freemode and Asmodee as a start within the group. Going forward, we also look forward to collaborating with both existing and new external licensees of our increasingly stronger IP portfolio,” Lars Wingefors, Founder and Group CEO of Embracer Group, described his feelings about the acquisition in a press release.

The Sweden-based industry giant revealed that the agreement includes the financial interests of Amazon’s brand new TV series, Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power, the animated movie, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, and lastly, Electronic Arts’ mobile game The Lord of the Rings: Heroes of Middle Earth. However, the most exciting aspect of the deal is that Embracer will explore opportunities to make new movies based on beloved characters such as Gandalf, Galadriel, Gollum, and Eowyn.

Another thing to mention about the acquisition is that the leadership team of Middle-Earth Enterprises will remain intact, while they will work closely with Embracer Freemode, a new operative group, to create opportunities for the most popular franchise in the world. According to the press release, Middle-Earth Enterprises will continue to work independently to preserve the internal culture. According to the official statement, Embracer Group will spend $788 million USD to close the entire deal.

In addition to buying the intellectual property rights to Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit, the Swedish conglomerate has announced the acquisition of multiple studios such as Bitwave Games, Gioteck, Limited Run Games, Singtrix, Tatsujin, Tuxedo Labs, and Tripwire Interactive. It seems like Embracer Group aims to expand its portfolio in diverse business market segments. Gioteck is a leading gaming accessory brand and Limited Run Games is best known for its excellent work on publishing physical games. Tatsujin, on the other hand, will help Embracer Group to recognize Japanese culture.

Going into more details, the creators of Killing Floor and Rising Storm, Tripwire Interactive, will work under the brand of Embracer to release new best-seller games such as Maneater and Red Orchestra. Additionally, Embracer revealed that the developer team has been working on a new triple-A title. Further information about the game will be given at a later date. Last but not least, the acquisition of Bitwave Games will give the financial opportunity to release their shoot’em up games to PC soon.

Embracer Group is a Sweden-based publisher company that previously acquired the rights to Tomb Raider back in May. The company also holds several publishing brands such as Deep Silver, Gearbox Entertainment, THQ Nordic, and Saber Interactive under its belt.