If you are a fan of classic franchises that felt completely left for dead over the last few years, you might want to sit down for this.
Embracer Group just announced a massive corporate shake-up, splitting themselves into two separate public companies. But tucked inside today’s giant financial presentation was an incredibly juicy nugget for gamers: Embracer is officially planning to “more actively” explore external partnerships and license out their dormant IPs to outside studios.
That means franchises like Deus Ex, TimeSplitters, Saints Row, Thief, Red Faction, and Legacy of Kain finally have a real pulse again.
The “Underleveraged” Graveyard
Let’s be real—Embracer’s history with these legendary names has been pretty depressing. Over the last couple of years, the massive gaming conglomerate went through a brutal period of cost-slashing. They closed down Volition (the creators of Saints Row), shut down Free Radical Design right in the middle of them making a new TimeSplitters reboot, and reportedly cancelled a Deus Ex game that had been in development for two years at Eidos-Montréal.
Essentially, they bought up a goldmine of nostalgic gaming history and locked it all in a vault.
But according to an open letter released today by Embracer’s Chair of the Board, Lars Wingefors, the strategy is shifting. Instead of letting these names rot, a newly spun-off branch of the company called Fellowship Entertainment will be dedicated to getting external developers, publishers, and even Hollywood filmmakers to borrow these IPs.
“Apart from our largest IPs, we will more actively be exploring external partnerships around our roster of other well-known IPs such as Saints Row, Legacy of Kain, Deus Ex, Red Faction, The Mask, Thief, TimeSplitters, amongst many others.”
— Lars Wingefors, Embracer Group
What Does This Actually Mean For New Games?
The short answer? There is a very real chance we could be getting new entries, remakes, or remasters of these games—just not directly from Embracer.
Think of it like how Disney handles Star Wars or Marvel games. Instead of building the games themselves, they let studios like EA, Ubisoft, or Insomniac pitch concepts and build them.
| Dormant IP | Last Mainline Entry | Why This News Matters |
| TimeSplitters | Future Perfect (2005) | Fans have been begging for this frantic, humorous sci-fi shooter to return for two decades. |
| Thief | Thief (2014) | The pioneer of first-person stealth could easily find a home with a dedicated indie or AA tactical studio. |
| Deus Ex | Mankind Divided (2016) | Following reports of a cancelled project in 2024, a third-party studio taking over could finally give JC Denton or Adam Jensen a proper revival. |
| Saints Row | Saints Row (2022) | Following a mixed-bag reboot and the closure of Volition, the IP can now be saved by fresh eyes who understand its chaotic roots. |
Proceed with Cautious Optimism
Before we get too ahead of ourselves, it’s worth noting that “external partnerships” doesn’t strictly guarantee a barrage of AAA video game announcements tomorrow. It takes a long time to secure licensing deals, find the right developers, and actually fund a game. Furthermore, Wingefors specifically highlighted their partnership with Dark Horse Media, meaning some of these revivals could technically manifest as comic books, TV shows, or movies instead of interactive media.
But even with that caveat, this is the best news fans of these franchises have had in years. They are no longer buried under corporate debt—the vault doors are unlocked, and the search for the right developers to bring them back has officially begun.
