Helsvenska spelgiganten Embracer Group äger idag Koch Media (hela koncernen), Saints Row, Darksiders, Timesplitters, Borderlands, Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, MX vs ATV, Destroy All Humans, Kingdoms of Amalur, Biomutant, Huntdown, Homefront, Wreckest, Flatout, Valheim, Hot Wheels Unleashed, World War Z, Evil Dead, Metro, Shadow Warrior, Duke Nukem Forever, Splitgate, Ghostrunner, Neverwinter, Thief, Legacy of Kain och många fler älskade spel och spelserier och till dennas hög av attraktiva licenser och studios kan de nu addera Tolkiens samlade, litterära verk.
Embracer med VD:n Lars Wingefors har precis köpt rättigheterna till Sagan om ringen samt Hobbit från The Saul Zaentz Company vilket innebär att de äger rättigheterna till alla kommande böcker, filmer, leksaker och spel - också. Med lite tur kommer Gandalf sjunga Lars Berghagens "Ding-Dong, det är kul att vara lång" i nästa filmadaption, med andra ord.
Saxat ur den officiella pressreleasen:
Embracer Group AB, through its wholly owned subsidiary Freemode, has entered into an agreement to acquire Middle-earth Enterprises, a division of The Saul Zaentz Company, which owns a vast intellectual property catalogue and worldwide rights to motion pictures, video games, board games, merchandising, theme parks and stage productions relating to the iconic fantasy literary works The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, as well as matching rights in other Middle-earth-related literary works authorized by the Tolkien Estate and HarperCollins, which have yet to be explored.
Acquired through Embracer's subsidiary Embracer Freemode Iconic Holding Inc. and will be part of the operative group Embracer Freemode.
"I am truly excited to have The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, one of the world's most epic fantasy franchises join the Embracer family, opening up more transmedia opportunities including synergies across our global group. I am thrilled to see what lies in the future for this IP with Freemode and Asmodee as a start within the group. Going forward, we also look forward to collaborating with both existing and new external licensees of our increasingly stronger IP portfolio," says Lars Wingefors, Founder and Group CEO Embracer Group.
"We at the Zaentz Company have had the honor over the past half century of stewarding the Tolkien rights so that Lord of the Rings and Hobbit fans worldwide could enjoy award winning epic films, challenging video games, first rate theatre and merchandise of every variety. We could not be more thrilled that it is Embracer now taking up the responsibility and we are confident their group will take it to new heights and dimensions while maintaining homage to the spirit of these great literary works," says Marty Glick, COO of The Saul Zaentz Company.
En av spelvärdens största...
"Run, you fools - Gandy got an bränd new AK!"