Perfect World Entertainment, which publishes Torchlight, the Neverwinter MMO, and the upcoming Hyper Light Breaker, recently announced its acquisition by the Embracer Group.
The publisher will adopt Gearbox branding, though it says no changes have been made to personnel, stating: "All of our games will continue to be published by the same group of enthusiastic gamers. Though the company name is changing, our titles, development plans, and passion for our work will remain."
The company also affirmed that this will not impact its ongoing live service games, assuring players that it will continue to support games like Neverwinter, Star Trek Online, and Have a Nice Death.
The Embracer Group was formerly known as THQ Nordic AB, and changed its name in 2019 to distinguish itself from its subsidiary, THQ Nordic GmbH, the publisher of Darksiders. The conglomerate also owns Saber Interactive, Valheim developer Iron Gate, and Goat Simulator creator Coffee Stain Studios.
The Embracer Group has made further significant acquisitions in the past year, having bought Borderlands developer Gearbox in February 2021, Duke Nukem creator 3D Realms in August, and comic book publisher and frequent videogame adapter Dark Horse in December.
This follows a broader trend of consolidation in the games industry, with Microsoft's blockbuster acquisitions of Bethesda and Activision, as well as Sony's purchase of Destiny developer Bungie.
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