The well-networked games journalist Stephen Totilo had recently had the opportunity to talk to Sabers CEO Matt Karch about what happened at the Embracer group behind the scenes. A cult studio, which has now been set, was particularly given to his fat.
What revealed Matt Karch? The former interim chief operating officer of the Embracer Group and current CEO of Saber Interactive (Space Marine 2) welcomed Stephen Totilo in his private jet and had so much to tell that the games journalist released several interview specials.
In the third part (via Gamefile.news), the Studio Volition, which was bought by the Swedish media group Embracer in the course of numerous acquisitions, only and only to be closed in the course of 2024.
Volition was founded in 1996 and had made a name for itself with Red Faction and Saints Row. Since Saints Row from 2022 remained behind the expectations, Matt Karch was only a matter of time before Embracer had to react.
The Saints-Row team is legitimately gone. They were too expensive for what they were. They didn’t know what they wanted to build. They had no real direction. So you can’t survive. Hence the question of who would have financed your next game after this disaster?
Matt Karch in an interview with Gamefile.news
The CEO also explains that you would currently be in a world in which ruthless efficiency is required if you want to run a large company. Leastings are essential for this, says Karch.
Saints Row from 2022 should be a restart for the anarchic series:
Saints Row in the gameplay trailer
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Saudi Arabia is actually behind the burst deal
What does the CEO reveal to Embracer? As is well known, the fact that the Swedish media group had to make extensive restructuring and cost savings was triggered by a billion-dollar deal burst at the last minute.
Even then, various insiders suspected that the Saudi Arabic Savvy Games Group is said to have been behind the deal. This is exactly what Matt Karch confirmed during the interview. However, the CEO defends the responsible Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors:
You made mistakes. Lars is a very, very trusting person. He is a good person … as [der Saudi-Deal] did not come about, he fell into his own sword in such a hard way.
Matt Karch in an interview with Gamefile.news
However, Wingefors is still CEO, volition and various other studios were closed. When asked why no high -ranking managers were released, Karch was amazed: Embracer has no structure, no bosses. Nobody got rich there. As a reminder: The interview took place in the CEO’s private jet. Fun Fact: Wingefor’s former pilot was probably at the wheel.
This type of alternative reality perception even came to light during an interview with Lars Wingefors. In 2024, he said that Embracer’s growth plan was not only because unpredictable external factors torpedo the project: Groups speculates, has to dismiss 1,400 employees and who is to blame? The war and covid