Embracer Group is reportedly readying to sell developer and publisher Saber Interactive to a group of private investors in a deal worth up to $500 million according to a Bloomberg report.
If it goes through, the deal will result in Saber becoming a privately owned company with around 3,500 employees in total. The report also indicates Saber will continue to work on its remake of “Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic” following the deal’s closure.
Announced several years ago, the remake has been engulfed in development turmoil as it was initially at Aspyr Media before being shifted over to Saber. Back in November last year it was reported the game’s production had been paused indefinitely.
The game unfolds four millennia before ‘A New Hope’ and begins as Darth Malak, a Dark Lord of the Sith, has unleashed a Sith armada against the Republic.
Malak’s aggression has left the Jedi scattered and vulnerable with many Jedi Knights having either fallen or sworn allegiance to Malak. The Jedi player must venture to different planets in the galaxy in order to defeat Malak.
The game was first released in 2003 and has pretty much been the most unanimously well-received non-film material of the franchise thus far. A sequel was released in 2004 and an MMORPG spin-off in 2011.
Embracer has been undergoing restructuring plans which have seen seven internal studios closed and 29 unannounced games cancelled in a six-month period last year.