As Bargain Bin Tomb Raider Goes to Embracer, PlayStation Seeks Acquisition Expert

'Lowers Sunglasses'

Microsoft also didn't pick them up. To me it seems like there is more to this story. Like another person said, maybe it was necessary to take on the debt or also take on a studio that they didn't want to get the IP.

Its hilarious how you spin this as a Sony missed opportunity. Why would Sony want a female version of Uncharted that sells a fraction of their own franchise even though its multiplatform? All the rest of the franchises are dead and require massive investments to make them relevant again. It's a pretty easy choice to save $300 million and invest in new IPs like they usually do.

Microsoft has trillions of dollars and they still struggle to release good, finished and exciting games. Maybe owning a billion IPs and employing thousands of people isn't necessarily good for business.

AFAIK one of the many problems that plagued the development of Cyberpunk 2077 was that too many people worked on the game. CDPR will now split their developers into smaller groups.

Even with uncharted being TR’s main competitor - they could have leapfrogged the franchises every few years to lessen any franchise fatigue but still maintain absolute dominance in that style of game.

Seems a little late to be hiring for this position, there will always be taken acquisition but it feels like this current time frame is going to have the biggest moves for the foreseeable future.

Sony and Microsoft misses out but does make me wonder, is square enix obligated to tell other companies that they have recieved a bid for their studios? Maybe sony had no idea of this sale

Severely missed opportunity. Hoping Tomb Raider will still be on Playstation with the same amount of content and the same release date as other platforms. Time will tell.

Im still of the mindset that things are worse than can be imagined at these western teams and the bargain price includes a lot of debt and of course employee overhead cost. Seeing how Sony is dong exclusives with Squares Japan teams, how vital Final Fantasy and JPRGs are to the brand, as well as the current landscape of playstation being the major console playerbase (excluding switch), they should try to add Square now with reduced cost.

Yeah, Sony got themselves locked in the freezer with the Butler on this one. Luckily for TR fans, MS were also lost in the Hedge-Maze at the time.

The only thing worse than Sony not getting Tomb Raider would have been if MS did.

A bunch of dead IPs nobody plays anymore? It's no wonder Sony wasn't interested.

A missed opportunity indeed, imagine the possibilities if these two franchises (tomb raider and uncharted) were under the playstation brand. A crossover between these two games would've been a dream come true for fans of the action adventure genre.

The market really does value live services more than single player games at the moment. It amazes me that destiny and the studio and makes it are worth 12 times more than tomb Raider and the studios that make that.

Anticipating a statement from Square Enix next week… ‘The amount we received for these beloved IP’s did not meet expectations .’ 😂

Because Sony has been absolutely abysmal since Jimbo took over.
There is so much potential in these titles, especially at that price.
Jimbo, however, wants live service games like the absolute turd he is

@munstre
No. BS. It's because SE made garbage games. Not because of lack of interest in these amazing IP's.
TR games are extremely mediocre. The new Deus Ex was not even half of what Human Revolution or the ones before that was. As a fan of HR I had no interest in Mankind Divided.
Even lots of Japanase SE games were crap, let alone their western games.

Totally agree with Sony on this. Dont buy for buyings sake. Uncharted kicks tomb raiders ass!

@Apfelschteiner
But Microsoft already has the FTC and US senators scrutinising their proposal to purchase Activision. I highly doubt they want to bring more attention to themselves by making any other purchases, right now, that could potentially cause even more problems for that deal before it goes through.

While the idea sounds nice on paper I actually don't see this as a good fit in strictly business terms for Sony. Playstation has 3rd person action adventure pretty much covered by the studios they already have under their umbrella. They have also made it very clear they are more in the market for devs with live service experience hence the deals with Bungie and Haven studios. Sure Crystal did Avengers but that didn't go very well as we all know.

The fanboy in me would have loved to see a potential cross-over Tomb Raider/Uncharted game but in the end I feel like this is a good deal for all involved. Square never seemed to know how to manage these teams anyway, no exclusives outside of a specific deal for a game or something, Embracer gets some IP that has some real worth for a steal...it's mostly all upside from what I can see actually.

From a business standpoint it is understandable, Tomb Raider is a brand for 40 year old (male) gamers, so no growth can be expected. You cannot make a free to play franchise from it since everybody only wants to play Lara and nobody buys cosmetic objects. You cannot sell NFTs...

Warner bros game division may good fit for Sony

@anon_pel222 I don't see the fascination with WB Games, the only IP of note you'll get is Mortal Kombat - which would make sense for Sony owning Evo and not having a fighting game on the roster - but stuff like Harry Potter, DC Comics & Lord Of The Rings wouldn't be part of the deal as they will still be able to license that stuff out.

Sorry my dudes but Tomb Raider is just unneeded in the first party lineup. Really the only missed opportunity here is the Montreal studio, they could've done some good stuff with Siphon Filter and having Deus Ex come in a PlayStation quality would be amazing but eh, let's let some games stay multiplatform...

@UltimateOtaku91 You'd imagine that they would have given Sony a heads up (why wouldn't they want more interest to drive the price up), or are they not really that close?

@Kopite Harry Potter DC Comics and Lord of the Rings would all be part of the deal as ongoing licenses for those teams. It would be the equivalent of what they are doing to Insomniac in making them a license studio. They wouldn't be my first choice, but the business argument is strong. I can't help feeling that Microsoft buying Activision is becoming a millstone around their necks as while they have the spare cash, they can't buy any more studios until the Activision deal goes through.

@RavenWolfe81 They could have made Crystal Dynamics a second Santa Monica studio.

Well Sony if you want a good acquisition I'm sure Square just got a hell of a lot cheaper 😉

@Apfelschteiner but do those studios/teams have X amount of time holding those licenses given that there under an umbrella that owns all of those IP?

I think anything MS do going forward will be looked at with more interest after the Acti/Blizz deal, I think they jumped the gun announcing it should have waited til it was done.

I still view Tomb Raider till this day as heavily related to PlayStation. That was one of the best games to come out on the classic system and I think would have done well with Sony. Either way it’s a win for all consoles since it will most likely be third party now moving forward.

I’m gonna be honest, Sony not making this move is making me worry about the future of PlayStation a bit. With all the talk of expanding into live service and mobile gaming, It doesn’t really seem like narrative single player games are as much of a priority. With all the studios Microsoft has bought and the games they’re taking away from PlayStation players this was clearly a missed opportunity to bring in two talented and capable AAA studios with histories of narrative single player games for relatively cheap considering they just spent 3 billion on Bungie. Would have been really cool to see what these studios were capable of under Sonys direction.

I've been offered the job.

Day 1 - acquire Tencent in hostile takeover and immediately liquidate

Day 2 - resign

Hey Jim Ryan just needs to read Push comments. So many experts here 😜
Good luck guys 👍🏻

@Apfelschteiner Sure but the more games a publisher has that are in the same genre, the less likely they are to make all those games. So would PlayStation let CD make Tomb Raider when Naughty Dog are supposedly making more Uncharted?

I doubt it and so what then? Let them run support for Santa Monica maybe? A waste of somewhat limited talent. At least CD can keep doing what they're good at with a 3rd party publisher that wants to let them mostly operate independent.

I like uncharted and tomb raider both have their strengths and weaknesses.
I am surprised either Sony or Microsoft didn’t snap up Crystal Dynamics, more so Microsoft as they helping with perfect dark at the moment.

For those saying Uncharted and Tomb Raider are too similar... imagine a crossover game where Nathan Drake turns up as another explorer whilst you're raiding as Lara!!

Played tomb raider since the ps1 and Saturn days and I enjoyed the news but the last one got mixed reviews. Uncharted is done better and those new tomb raiders had a hard time keeping up work the bar that uncharted has set. I don't see they missed out on anything by not buying that company. Now if the legacy of kain is was invovled in that then I'd say it was worth it. You got to keep in mind Sony don't have the bank roll MS has they can't just go buy everything up they have to be selective and know it's a quality worth having.

Gaming is fast becoming a ***** show of greed and it's values and heritage are being massively screwed over by super rich companies like Microsoft (to name one of many)

With so much going on I just hope the new Tomb Raider game doesn’t suck because of all this. That’s my main concern.

Well they didnt buy them because their western studios don't fit the Sony live service agenda. Thats why they grossly overpaid for Bungie and passed on a deal like this. I guarantee you Sony knew of this deal going down. Crystal Dynamics failed at live service and Jim Ryan just doesn't want anymore studios that can't successfully support Sonys microtransactions live service future.

These deals don't happen over night. I'm sure Sony was offered it, by Square Enix. Sony thinks too highly of the Uncharted IP. I think having Tomb Raider would have been just as good as the Uncharted IP. In my eyes, Sony dropped the ball with this one. Crystal Dynamics is a very consistent developer.

@pumpkin_head with a plan like that, I highly doubt you got the job offer. Tencent's worth 4x more than Sony. Sony would have to liquidate itself completely and probably still not have enough money for a hostile takeover.

@mucc you missed the point. what about the deus ex and soul reaver IPs? what about all the talent that crystal dynamics and eidos montreal would bring to the table? they would be a perfect fit as a playstation studio. missed opportunity is an understatement. this was a bargin bin fire sale and it sounds like sony was asleep while it happened.

"bigwigs on seven-figure salaries" the more money you make the smarter you are? LOL

I can’t believe after Sony spent so much on Bungie it missed a bargained-priced opportunity to proclaim ‘she’s coming home, Lara’s back where she belongs!’

I gotta be honest, I'm no expert, but I would do a better job than whoever missed this deal lol

@Keyblade-Dan this is true and it makes one wonder if that was the intent here. perhaps s-e is purposely tanking its value to make a sony acquisition more... feasible. i'm just waiting for forspoken to bomb and bring s-e to a 10 year low stock price before sony swoops in. hey, one can dream!

@PenguinLtd if sony cannot get the metal gear IP, deus ex was the next best thing. a deus ex reboot under.... i dunno, studio bend or bluepoint would have been awesome to see. sony needs a true stealth franchise and deus ex would have fit the bill. bring stealth back!

@Porco Hey fingers crossed 🤞🤞🤞

@AFCC If Sony Is Hireing Why Not Give It a Try Lol.

I can easily imagine the angst in the comments if Sony did buy the western arm of a Japanese game company. So so much angst.

@mucc tomb raider isn't a 'female version of uncharted' it was created well before uncharted was

Wow microsoft buy a company it's bad even if they say they will keep the some games multiplatform,when Sony jumped on bungie it was the greatest thing since sliced bread for most ppl now most of the ones who celebrated are now saying its a bad purchase just because someone else did it and Sony didn't ......fanboys really need to move away from the I'm at preschool and want everything my way attitude

Tomb Raider hasn't been fun since tomb Raider 3.....so.... I don't think this is as big of a deal as others are making it.

@Martsmall that's not what happened...

@themightyant
"The recent Tomb Raider Trilogy sold over 38 million copies... is that not enough for you?

Deus Ex HR & MD, which are more niche, sold over 12 million."

And how many of those millions were bought on heavy discounts? Those franchises are 75% off or more regularly. I got the PC versions of the Tomb Raider trilogy for probably £10 all together.

I think now Sony buys Square Enix with the fat trimmed off.

There is clearly something more going on than Sony/microsoft simply 'missing out'. Square wouldn't be selling at that price if they'd thought they could've got a billion figure from someone else surely.

Remember everyone Sony have Strategic Investments until 2023 worth $18B+. I’m curious how much cash is left on Sonys investment because they already used some of that money since last year.

@BoldAndBrash "crap this, crap that, garbage this, extremely mediocre (as if there's such a thing) that"

"Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition" 85/100
"Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration" 88/100
"Shadow of the Tomb Raider" 75/100
https://www.metacritic.com/search/game/tomb%20raider/results?plats[72496]=1&search_type=advanced

Seriously. Take a look at your posting history and drink a shot every time you see the word "crap" or "garbage". You'll get drunk in no time.

The problem isn't the games. It's you.

@Orpheus79V it's still a significant number and it shows that there is clear interest in both franchises.

I agree, Sony should have scooped up these IPs for cheap.

Just being able to add these game to subscription service would be worth it.

@IndoorEnthusiast
Indeed. Sony can do no right is actually more common comment than the other way round.(damn if they do, damn if they don’t)

So all being said with these articles, according to Push experts Sony bought Bungie for 70 gazillions but failed to go to pound shop to grab SQ western parts for £3 because they are arrogant.
Very informative.

🧐😅

I can’t wait for the fascinating takes when Sony is actually involved 🧘🏼
Haha

@naruball
Only me, eh, detective?
That's the reason why they're not sold well. Must be.
It's not because Lara is daft and bland and unrelatable as a character. Not because Uncharted is a million times more impressive. Or that Deus Ex MD wished it was HR. It only was 10 hours long as well.
Not because the only worthwhile game SE had been releasing was Hitman and even that one wasn't selling well and they had to sell the entire IP.
Maybe you should stop snooping in my comments and start looking into reality. SE had been releasing mediocre games, no matter what the reviews say. If Uncharted is a 10, TR can absolutely not be more than a 7, even if the IGN saints give it an 8

That's the public consensus and it lead exactly to what's happened now. A bargain bin sale

@Milktastrophe I just read that grubby Jeff guy is saying the reason these companies and IPs were sold off was because Sony is buying the rest of Square Enix.

Then it would have been worth 300 million more just to get everything...

That kind of money is nothing in these mega buyouts.

@mucc maybe because uncharted isn’t as good as tomb Raider and has obnoxious characters.

@Areus 🤷‍♂️ maybe they would get me even though I have no experience lol

@AFCC They Need More Gamers In Positions Of Power And Less Mindless Suits.