Embracer CEO who oversaw the staggering $2B blunder that led to studio closures and layoffs is now set to become its executive chair, focusing on 'mergers and acquisitions and capital allocation'
There are big changes afoot at Embracer Group, which has announced that company CEO Lars Wingefors is stepping down from the role. But he's not leaving! Instead, Wingefors is set to become the executive chair of the board, where he will focus on—believe it or not—"capital allocation, M&A [mergers and acquisitions], and strategy."
"With the start of this new phase, I am thankful for the years and lessons learned as CEO of Embracer," Wingefors said in today's announcement. "While the road has not always been straight, I am incredibly proud of the achievements made possible by our talented teams, which have created some incredible experiences for gamers.
"This new phase allows me to focus on strategic initiatives, M&A, and capital allocation, ensuring Embracer's continued growth and success. I am more convinced than ever that the best is still ahead of us."
This shift to a new role is notable because Wingefors' tenure as CEO of Embracer has been, at least from an outside perspective, decidedly not great. Embracer Group was riding high for a few years, throwing around mountains of money to hoover up some big-name game companies, but the wheels came off in 2023 when a $2 billion investment deal fell apart at the last minute.
Suddenly there was no more money, and it turned out the whole thing was an unsustainable house of cards: Studios were sold off or closed outright, and nearly 1,400 people were put out of work over a six month stretch.
Embracer announced the end of its restructuring in 2024, yet layoffs continued apace: Eidos Montreal, Crystal Dynamics, Cryptic, and Lost Boys Interactive have all suffered layoffs since then, and Piranha Bytes and Pieces Interactive have been shuttered. Earlier this year, Embracer announced a new round of restructuring, spinning off its Coffee Stain groups into "a standalone group of community-driven game developers and publishers by the end of calendar year 2025."
Wingefors' move into the executive chair position may not be a sure thing: It is "proposed," and must be voted on at Embracer's annual general meeting in September. How likely it is that the proposal will be shot down by Embracer shareholders I cannot say—I mean, I know which way I'd vote, but I'm not a Big Business Understander and thus don't really know how this sort of thing ends up being put on the table in the first place.
It's worth noting, however, that the proposal to make Lars Wingefors the executive chair of Embracer was made by Lars Wingefors AB, an investment firm that's far and away the largest shareholders in Embracer. Make of that what you will.
Regardless of how that shakes out, Wingefors is definitely out as CEO. He'll be replaced on August 1 by Phil Rogers, currently the CEO of the Crystal Dynamics—Eidos and Plaion groups, and deputy CEO of Embracer.
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