Embracer Group has signaled that several of its most beloved but long-dormant gaming franchises could finally see new life. In an open letter to investors, Embracer founder Lars Wingefors announced that the company will be “more actively exploring” external partnerships for a roster of well-known intellectual properties, including Deus Ex, Saints Row, TimeSplitters, Thief, Legacy of Kain, Red Faction, and The Mask. The move suggests that studios outside of Embracer’s corporate umbrella could be tapped to develop new entries in these storied series, according to reports from IGN and Rock Paper Shotgun.
The announcement comes as part of a broader corporate restructuring that will see Embracer split into two entities. A new business unit called Fellowship Entertainment will be formed to manage the company’s biggest transmedia properties, including The Lord of the Rings and Tomb Raider. Studios such as Warhorse Studios, the team behind Kingdom Come: Deliverance, and Crystal Dynamics, the developers of recent Tomb Raider titles, will fall under the Fellowship banner. Meanwhile, publishers like THQ Nordic and studios such as Aspyr and Milestone will remain under the main Embracer umbrella.
For fans of the franchises mentioned, the news arrives after years of frustration and disappointment. The Saints Row series has been effectively inactive since its poorly received 2022 reboot led to the closure of longtime developer Volition in 2023. Earlier this year, original Saints Row design director Chris Stockman publicly stated his belief that the franchise was “dead” and that Embracer had “zero ability” to do anything meaningful with it. The prospect of an external studio picking up the mantle offers the first real glimmer of hope for the series in years.
Deus Ex finds itself in a similarly bleak position. It has been a full decade since Deus Ex: Mankind Divided launched in 2016, and despite fan hopes that Embracer’s acquisition of the IP from Square Enix would lead to a revival, a reported two-year development effort on a new installment was reportedly scrapped in 2024 during the company’s sweeping cost-cutting measures. Lead actor Elias Toufexis has been outspoken about his frustration, going so far as to call Embracer’s leadership “psychopaths” for letting the franchise languish. TimeSplitters has followed a similarly grim trajectory, with a planned revival at Free Radical Design ending in both the project’s cancellation and the studio’s permanent closure.
It is worth noting, however, that Wingefors stopped short of confirming any specific new game announcements or providing a timeline. As Rock Paper Shotgun pointed out, the mention of Dark Horse Comics joining the new licensing unit and its Hollywood connections means these external partnerships could just as easily result in film or television adaptations rather than video games. The language remains deliberately open-ended, leaving room for multiple possibilities across different media.
Still, after years of studio closures, canceled projects, and corporate turmoil at Embracer, even the suggestion that these franchises might find new homes with capable development partners represents a meaningful shift in tone. Whether any of these IPs ultimately return as games, shows, or something else entirely, the door that many fans assumed had been permanently shut now appears to be at least slightly ajar.