Saber Interactive CEO Matthew Karch recently discussed the company's decision to part ways with Embracer Group. In a candid interview with IGN, Karch explained that the split was largely amicable, but motivated by a desire to reduce the risks associated with Embracer's financial problems in a changing market.
In 2020, Embracer acquired Saber in hopes of accelerating Saber's growth. As market conditions worsened, Embracer faced financial problems. This led to layoffs and project cancellations. While admitting that Embracer made some mistakes, Karch still maintains a good relationship with Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors. He stands by him and the company despite criticism, highlighting their commitment to quality intellectual property and game developers. Karch explains that Saber's main reason for leaving was to protect themselves, which allowed them to avoid Embracer's financial uncertainty.
“...When the market changed, he lost patience. And when the market lost patience, difficult decisions had to be made because there was no way to support everything that was happening. That’s why the layoffs happened.”
Karch is saddened by the separation, but says overall he still has a good relationship with Embracer. He says both companies benefited from the separation. Embracer wanted to save money and focus, while Saber wanted to continue to grow.
Karch also discussed Saber's future plans, highlighting its "middle market" publishing strategy. Saber's goal is to create first-class games without the huge budgets associated with traditional AAA games. This is seen as a way to address the expected shortage of gaming content in the coming years, caused by layoffs and project cancellations in the industry.
Karch mentioned Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, which he said " is the best thing Saber has ever done and is probably second, third, and fourth as well ." Development of a remake of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic also continues. 4A Games is working on a new project not related to the Metro series. Karch revealed that the team " had another project that they were working on " that was not involved with Metro at the time of the Saber acquisition. However the team couldn't fully pursue the idea due to its focus on Metro, and Karch claims the business wasn't "efficient" enough to do both. But Saber helped 4A create a second team, and 4A began working more fully on the project.
There's also a new game called Painkiller., which Saber previously developed in partnership with Plaion's Embracer-owned Prime Matter label. It's still a work in progress, but it looks like Plaion will no longer be involved. " We think it would be better for us to publish this game
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