Embracer Group AB

Who owns Saints Row?
The Saints Row franchise is owned by Embracer Group AB and managed under the Deep Silver publishing label within its Plaion business. The IP is expected to move to Fellowship Entertainment, the division Embracer plans to list separately on Nasdaq Stockholm in 2027.

Is Embracer Group publicly traded?
Yes. Embracer Group trades on Nasdaq Stockholm under the ticker EMBRAC B. It was founded by Lars Wingefors, who remains chairman and the largest shareholder.

What happened to Volition, the Saints Row developer?
Embracer closed Volition in August 2023 as part of a company-wide restructuring after the 2022 Saints Row reboot underperformed. The Saints Row IP stayed with Embracer's Deep Silver label, and no internal studio currently develops the series.

When was Embracer Group founded?
The company traces to Nordic Games Licensing, founded by Lars Wingefors in 2008 in Karlstad, Sweden. It was renamed THQ Nordic AB in 2016 and Embracer Group in 2019.

What is Embracer Group's revenue?
For fiscal year 2025/26 ended March 31, 2026, Embracer reported net sales of SEK 15,906 million and adjusted EBIT of SEK 905 million. Results exclude Coffee Stain Group, which was spun off in December 2025.

What is Fellowship Entertainment?
Fellowship Entertainment is the Embracer division that holds the group's major IP, including The Lord of the Rings, Tomb Raider, Kingdom Come, Dead Island, and Saints Row, plus the Plaion publishing business and Deep Silver. Embracer plans to list it separately on Nasdaq Stockholm during calendar year 2027.

Lars Wingefors built his first business selling second-hand comics as a teenager in Karlstad. That business, Nordic Games, went bankrupt in 2004. Wingefors restarted with Nordic Games Licensing in 2008, buying undervalued game rights from defunct publishers such as JoWooD and the original THQ.

The pivotal deal came in 2013 when the company acquired the bulk of THQ's remaining portfolio, including Darksiders, Red Faction, and the rights that later produced the Metro publishing relationship. Koch Media's acquisition of Volition and the Saints Row IP in the same THQ auction is notable because Koch Media itself became part of the group in 2018.

The group renamed itself THQ Nordic AB in 2016 and listed on Nasdaq First North, moving to the main Stockholm exchange in 2018. That year it bought Koch Media for approximately 121 million euros, adding the Deep Silver publishing label, Volition, and Saints Row. A 2019 purchase of Coffee Stain Studios brought Goat Simulator and a thriving indie publishing arm.

The company renamed itself Embracer Group in September 2019 to reflect a structure broader than THQ Nordic alone. Between 2020 and 2022, the group spent billions on acquisitions funded by equity issuance. The largest deals included Saber Interactive for $525 million, Gearbox Entertainment for $1.3 billion, Asmodee for 2.75 billion euros, and the 2022 purchase of Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montreal, and Square Enix Montreal from Square Enix for $300 million, which brought Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, and Legacy of Kain.

In May 2023 a planned $2 billion partnership with Saudi-backed Savvy Games Group collapsed at the last moment. The share price fell roughly 40 percent in one day. Embracer responded with a restructuring program that closed or divested dozens of studios and cut more than 1,500 jobs, including the shutdown of Saints Row developer Volition in August 2023 and the sale of Gearbox and Saber Interactive in 2024.

The group then committed to splitting into three companies. Asmodee was distributed to shareholders and listed in February 2025. Coffee Stain Group listed on Nasdaq First North Premier on December 11, 2025. In May 2026 the board announced the remaining split: Fellowship Entertainment, housing the major IP and a rebuilt publishing group assembled around Plaion and Deep Silver staff, will list on Nasdaq Stockholm in calendar 2027, leaving a smaller Embracer holding distribution, mobile, and licensing assets.

Embracer's most consequential controversy was the collapse of its $2 billion Savvy Games Group partnership in May 2023, which erased roughly 40 percent of its market value in a single session and forced the group-wide restructuring. Critics, including labor advocates, faulted management for expanding rapidly on equity issuance and then cutting more than 1,500 jobs and closing studios such as Volition and Campfire Cabal.

The group also faced scrutiny over ownership ties to Saudi Arabia. Savvy Games Group, a subsidiary of the Saudi Public Investment Fund, accumulated a stake of roughly 8 percent in 2022, which drew criticism from free-expression groups concerned about a state-backed investor in a company holding entertainment IP.

The 2022 Saints Row reboot was a commercial disappointment and contributed to the decision to close Volition. Former Saints Row design director Chris Stockman publicly described the franchise as dead in early 2026, claiming the company had not responded to his pitch for a revival. Embracer has responded only by naming Saints Row among IPs it would consider licensing to external partners.