Vår story - Embracer

Operative Group
5*
Headcounts
3109*
Net Sales
5,249 msek*
*=financial and operational metrics for year end FY 19/20

We embrace change

The brand mix-up between the parent company and the subsidiary THQ Nordic GmbH has been an issue and the parent company finally becomes Embracer Group AB. We think it fits well since our mission is to embrace great companies, great people and great ideas. (We save the list of 200 other names for possible future needs…)

The family keeps growing

We were not idle this year, either, but acquired Coffee Stain, Koch Media / Deep Silver, Volition, Bugbear, Handygames and Lavapotion.

Busy year

The family grows with acquisitions of Pieces Interactive, Black Forrest Games and Experiment 101.

Operative Group
1*
Headcounts
372*
Net Sales
302 msek *
*=financial and operational metrics for year end 2016

THQ Nordic goes public

Nordic Games, both the mother company in Sweden and the Viennese subsidiary, are renamed as THQ Nordic. The move is done to capitalize on the stronger THQ-trademark, and before becoming a publicly listed company.

In November 2016, the company became a public company listed on Nasdaq First North Stockholm, Sweden.

NORDIC GAMES ACQUIRES THQ

Nordic Games acquires the American games brand THQ and the story behind the THQ Nordic AB company begins.

DARKSIDERS BRINGS LIGHT

Nordic games acquire a lot of strong IP:s from THQ Inc, included Red Faction, Darksiders, MX vs. ATV, Destroy All Humans, Titan Quest and most notably, the Darksiders franchise.

The beginning

In June 2011, Nordic Games Holding acquired the assets of insolvent publisher JoWooD Entertainment and its subsidiaries. And here is where the beginning of the Embracer Group journey starts for real.

Hitting big with karaoke

Game Outlet starts the publishing brand Nordic Games, publishing video games in niches that lacks games in the mid and low prize sector. This is the hay days of karaoke games and Nordic games hit big with the We Sing franchise on Nintendo Wii in 2009.

RESTART

After some turbulent and hard working years, during which the games business is transformed, Lars Wingefors restarts the company with a new business model. Under the name Game Outlet Europe the company leaves first day releases behind and focuses on trading all other games all over Europe. He also sells these games to a mass-market outside of the games stores. It turns out well, and the company generates a good and stable profit.

The dotcom bubble

The 22 year old Lars Wingefors operates Swedens largest independent games wholesale business, but margins are low. He brings experienced economist Erik Stenberg into the business to help attract investors and soon, British dotcom startup Gameplay acquires Lars Wingefors company for 8 million pounds, in shares. Sadly, the deal is made the same weekend that the dotcom bubble starts to implode.

Surprised this has happened

Four years after selling his first video game, Lars Wingefors is a high school drop out who operates a whole sales business in Karlstad with a revenue of 100 millions skr, about ten million GBP. ”I am still surprised this has happened”, he tells the local daily.

Swedens largest mail order

At 15 Lars has Swedens largest mail order comics business, and thinks everything is going grand, when all of a sudden his eyes fall on some used video games on a shelf in the comics store he frequently visits. They seem to sell for a lot more than comics, what if he should try that out instead?

At an early age

Turning 13 Lars Wingefors realizes something. Growing up with a single mother in a rural area, he is far from poor but also far from rich. ”If I am going to have any money, I have to fix it on my own”, he tells himself and turnes his collection of Lee Falks comic The Phantom into the start of a used comics business.