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Saber Interactive

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Saber Interactive Inc.
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryVideo games
Founded2001; 23 years ago (2001)
Founders
  • Andrey Iones
  • Matthew Karch
  • Anton Krupkin
Headquarters
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
,
U.S.
Key people
RevenueIncrease US$161.2 million[1] (2022)
Number of employees
2,671[1] (2022)
Parent
SubsidiariesSee § Subsidiaries
Websitesaber.games

Saber Interactive Inc. is an American video game developer and publisher based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Founded by Andrey Iones, Matthew Karch, and Anton Krupkin in 2001, it is controlled by Karch's investment company Beacon Interactive. The company employs over 1,350 people.[2][3]

Saber was initially acquired by Embracer Group in February 2020.[4] In March 2024, amidst financial difficulties, Embracer Group sold Saber Interactive to Beacon Interactive, reverting control back to co-founder Karch.

History

[edit]

Saber Interactive was founded in 2001 by Andrey Iones, Matthew Karch, and Anton Krupkin.[5][6] Together they created a 3D engine from scratch, gathered a team of artists from Saint Petersburg, Russia, and began working on their first game, Will Rock.[7] After the release of Will Rock, Saber developed their proprietary game engine, Saber3D, which was used in their second title, TimeShift (2007).[8] The Saber3D engine has since been continuously updated and evolved for use in current games.[9][10]

In 2010, Saber was approached by Microsoft's 343 Industries to remake Halo: Combat Evolved for the game's tenth anniversary. This would be Saber's first involvement in a major franchise and COO Andrey Iones considered it "an opportunity that we couldn’t miss". To maintain the original game experience, Saber used the original engine for game play and the Saber3D engine for visuals.[11] Halo Combat Evolved Anniversary was released on November 15, 2011, to positive reviews.[12] Saber then assisted in 2014 on the development of Halo: The Master Chief Collection.[13]

On August 1, 2016, Saber Interactive opened its first internal studio outside of Russia in Madrid.[14] This was the beginning of a major international expansion, with Saber opening studios in Sundsvall, Sweden (by buying porting studio Binary Motion),[15] and Minsk, Belarus.

CD Projekt Red partnered with Saber in 2018 on the Nintendo Switch port of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Complete Edition.[16] The port was released on October 15, 2019, to positive reviews highlighting the performance and playability.[17][18]

On April 16, 2019, Saber launched World War Z. The game sold over one million units in its first week of release.[19]

id Software studio director Tim Willits joined Saber as chief creative officer on August 1, 2019.[20]

In October 2019, Saber Interactive acquired Bigmoon Entertainment,[21] a game development studio of forty people based in Porto, Portugal, and rebranded the studio as Saber Porto.[21][22]

Saber was acquired by Embracer Group in February 2020 in a deal worth US$525 million.[4] Under the deal, Saber became the fifth direct subsidiary under Embracer and maintains autonomy. Post-acquisition, Matthew Karch continues to serve as chief executive officer and Andrey Iones as chief operating officer.[23] After joining Embracer, Saber became a platform for future acquisitions of other studios.

In August 2020, Saber Interactive acquired 4A Games, the developers behind the Metro video game series and New World Interactive, the developers of Insurgency: Sandstorm.[24][25] In November 2020, Saber Interactive acquired 34BigThings, Mad Head Games, Nimble Giant Entertainment, Snapshot Games and Zen Studios.[26] Former President and CEO of id Software, Todd Hollenshead, joined Saber as Head of Publishing on November 18, 2020.[27]

Saber and Boss Team Games announced Evil Dead: The Game during The Game Awards 2020.[28]

In February 2021, Embracer Group announced that they acquired Aspyr and that the developer would be a subsidiary for Saber Interactive. The day one purchase price amounts to US$100 million on a cash and debt free basis, where US$60 million is paid in cash and US$40 million is paid in newly issued Embracer B shares. An additional consideration of a maximum of US$350 million may be paid under the agreement subject to certain conditions.[29]

In June 2021, new publishing label Prime Matter announced Saber Interactive was developing a new entry in the Painkiller franchise. In that same month, Warhorse Studios announced that Saber Interactive will be developing a Kingdom Come: Deliverance port for the Nintendo Switch.[30]

In August 2021, Saber Interactive acquired 3D Realms, Slipgate Ironworks, SmartPhone Labs, Demiurge Studios, and Fractured Byte.[31][32] The following month, Saber Interactive acquired Bytex.[33] In December of that year, Saber Interactive acquired DIGIC Pictures and Shiver Entertainment.[34][35]

In March 2024, following earlier reports,[36] Embracer Group announced that it would divest Saber Interactive by selling it to Beacon Interactive, a company owned by Karch, for US$247 million. As part of the deal, Saber Interactive retained the Saber-branded studios, 3D Realms, Digic Pictures, Fractured Byte, Mad Head Games, New World Interactive, Nimble Giant Entertainment, Sandbox Strategies, SmartPhone Labs, Slipgate Ironworks, and Stuntworks, as well as their associated intellectual properties, whereas Embracer Group kept 34BigThings, Aspyr, Beamdog, Demiurge Studios, Shiver Entertainment (later sold to Nintendo), Snapshot Games, Tripwire Interactive, and Tuxedo Labs.[37][38] Beacon Interactive was also given the option to buy 4A Games and Zen Studios at a later date, but both studios ultimately stayed with Embracer Group.[39]

Games

[edit]
Main article: List of Saber Interactive games

Subsidiaries

[edit]
List of subsidiaries of Saber Interactive
Name Location Ref.
3D Realms Aalborg [40]
Bytex Saransk
Digic Pictures Budapest
Fractured Byte Tallinn
Mad Head Games Belgrade
New World Interactive Denver
Nimble Giant Entertainment Buenos Aires
Saber Armenia Yerevan
Saber Belarus Minsk
Saber London London
Saber Madrid Madrid
Saber Porto Porto
Saber St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg
Saber Sweden Sundsvall
Sandbox Strategies New York City
Slipgate Ironworks Aalborg
SmartPhone Labs Veliky Novgorod
Stuntworks Saint Petersburg

References

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  1. ^ a b "Embracer Annual Report & Sustainability Report 2021-2022" (PDF).
  2. ^ "Company". Saber Interactive. Archived from the original on March 26, 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
  3. ^ Palumbo, Alessio (May 25, 2020). "Saber Interactive Interview - World War Z's Success (Over 10M Registered Players) and Beyond". Wccftech. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Saber Interactive | Saber and Embracer join forces". Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  5. ^ Nutt, Christian (November 20, 2007). "The Development Of A Continuum: Andrey Iones On TimeShift". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on May 28, 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
  6. ^ VB Staff (December 7, 2017). "Saber Interactive: Classic shooters show off technical chops". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on May 28, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  7. ^ "Will Rock interview". GameSpot. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  8. ^ "Postmortem: Saber Interactive's TimeShift". www.gamasutra.com. April 4, 2008. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  9. ^ Adams, David (January 10, 2005). "Atari Announces New Shooter". IGN. Archived from the original on May 28, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  10. ^ "World War Z Swarm engine runs "amazingly" on next-gen hardware". MSPoweruser. May 27, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  11. ^ Iones, Andrey (March 2012). "Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary Post-Mortem" (PDF). Game Developer Magazine. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  12. ^ "Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary". Metacritic. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  13. ^ The Horse You Rode In On (A Halo: The Master Chief Collection Story) – IGN First - IGN, October 7, 2014, retrieved December 2, 2020
  14. ^ "Olé!". Saber Interactive. August 1, 2016. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
  15. ^ "Binary Motion". Retrieved April 24, 2022.
  16. ^ Morgan, Thomas (August 19, 2019). "Tech Interview: How was The Witcher 3 ported to Nintendo Switch?". Eurogamer. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  17. ^ Frushtick, Russ (October 15, 2019). "Witcher 3 on Nintendo Switch only makes a few sacrifices". Polygon. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  18. ^ "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Complete Edition". Metacritic. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  19. ^ "World War Z passes 1 million copies sold in a week". VentureBeat. April 23, 2019. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  20. ^ "Quake director Tim Willits explains why he's joining Saber Interactive". VentureBeat. August 13, 2019. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  21. ^ a b Valentine, Rebekah (October 18, 2019). "Saber Interactive acquires Bigmoon Entertainment". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on October 20, 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
  22. ^ "Saber Interactive buys Bigmoon Entertainment, announces two new projects". VentureBeat. October 18, 2019. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
  23. ^ Takahashi, Dean (December 26, 2018). "How World War Z will pick up where Left 4 Dead left us stranded". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on April 26, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  24. ^ "Saber Interactive | EMBRACER GROUP ACQUIRES 4A GAMES". Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  25. ^ "Saber Interactive | EMBRACER GROUP ACQUIRES NEW WORLD INTERACTIVE". Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  26. ^ "Embracer Group acquires 34BigThings, Flying Wild Hog, Nimble Giant Entertainment, Purple Lamp Studios, Snapshot Games, Zen Studios, more". Gematsu. November 18, 2020. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
  27. ^ "Former id Software president Todd Hollenshead takes over publishing at Saber". VentureBeat. November 18, 2020. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
  28. ^ "Evil Dead: The Game Announced At The Game Awards 2020". GameSpot. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  29. ^ Takahashi, Dean (February 2, 2021). "Embracer Group acquires Aspyr Media for up to $450 million". Venture Beat. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  30. ^ "Yes, Kingdom Come: Deliverance is actually coming to Nintendo Switch". TheSixthAxis. June 11, 2021.
  31. ^ "Saber Interactive | Saber Interactive Welcomes Three Specialized Video Game Studios". Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  32. ^ "Embracer Group acquires 3D Realms, CrazyLabs, Digixart, Easy Trigger, Force Field, Ghost Ship Games, Grimfrost, and Slipgate Ironworks". Gematsu. August 4, 2021.
  33. ^ "Saber Interactive | Saber Interactive Reaches Agreement to acquire Bytex". Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  34. ^ "Saber Interactive | Embracer Group Enters Into Agreement To Acquire Digic". Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  35. ^ "Saber Interactive | Embracer Group Acquires Shiver Entertainment". Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  36. ^ Schreier, Jason (February 29, 2024). "Embracer Group to Sell Saber, Developer of a New 'Star Wars' Game Remake, in $500 Million Deal". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  37. ^ Robinson, Andy (March 14, 2024). "Embracer confirms $247m sale of Saber assets and withdraws from Russia". Video Games Chronicle. Archived from the original on March 14, 2024. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  38. ^ Romano, Sal (March 14, 2024). "Saber Interactive to split from Embracer Group [Update]". Gematsu. Archived from the original on March 14, 2024. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  39. ^ Kerr, Chris (September 13, 2024). "Embracer confirms 4A Games and Zen Studios are going nowhere". Game Developer. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  40. ^ "Embracer companies" (PDF). Embracer Group. December 31, 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 14, 2024. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
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