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Swedish game publisher Embracer buys rights to ‘Tomb Raider’ and ‘Deux Ex’

Swedish video game publisher Embracer said on Monday that it had acquired three development studios responsible for hit games such as "Tomb Raider" and "Deus Ex" from Japanese publisher Square Enix.

Swedish game publisher Embracer buys rights to 'Tomb Raider' and 'Deux Ex'
Character figure of computer game heroine Lara Croft. Photo: Jörg Carstensen/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images

The acquisition of the three North American studios Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montreal and Square Enix Montreal, totalled $300 million (285 million euros) and affects around 1,100 employees, Embracer said in a statement.

It also included the intellectual properties (IPs) for several best-selling franchises, such as “Tomb Raider,” starring British adventuring archeologist Lara Croft, who has been a video game character icon since her debut in 1996.

“We are thrilled to welcome these studios into the Embracer Group. We recognise the fantastic IP, world class creative talent, and track record of excellence that have been demonstrated time and again over the past decades,” Lars Wingefors, co-founder and CEO of Embracer, said in a statement.

Other well known IPs included in the deal were science fiction role-playing game “Deus Ex” and “Thief,” where players need to focus on stealth as they don the robes of a master thief.

The purchase is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close between July and September, the group said.

Following the close of the transaction, Embracer, which has been on an acquisition spree for several years, will have more than 14,000 employees and 124 internal game development studios.

Embracer, formerly known as THQ Nordic, is based in the town of Karlstad in western Sweden.

In a separate statement, Square Enix said “the move is based on the policy of business structure optimisation,” which it had outlined in its “medium-term business strategy,” announced in May of 2021.

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NORTHVOLT

Toyota halts work at Swedish factory Northvolt after unexplained deaths

Toyota is temporarily pausing work for its service technicians at the Northvolt battery factory in northern Sweden after three people died under mysterious circumstances after shifts working at the factory.

Toyota halts work at Swedish factory Northvolt after unexplained deaths

“As an employer, we care about the safety of our employees,” Toyota’s head of HR, Annika Dörner, told Dagens Arbete.

“Based on the information we have received from Northvolt in Skellefteå, we as an employer have decided to carry out as little service and maintenance on site as possible.”

In the past six months, three men working at Northvolt passed away at home following shifts at the factory. Swedish police launched an investigation into the deaths this week to find out whether they’re just a coincidence, or whether the people in question may have been exposed to something while working.

Toyota’s technicians will carry out service work from the company’s own base in Skellefteå, Dörner said, while awaiting the results of the police investigation.

In a comment to Dagens Arbete, Mikael Stenmark, chief safety representative for metalworkers’ union IF Metall, criticised Toyota for pausing work on site.

“In this case Toyota has halted work without knowing if there’s a clear danger to life or health, and without knowing if there’s a risk. We can’t have a situation where companies react to rumours. We need to base these things on facts,” he told the newspaper.

“The consequence of this is that no one takes it seriously when it actually is dangerous.”

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