Most people agree that Embracer Group made out like bandits after acquiring the rights to iconic franchises like Tomb Raider and Deus Ex from Square Enix. While the announcement has fans of each series looking to the future, it seems that Embracer is looking to capitalize on the past. In a recent earnings call, the publisher explained that it sees "great potential" in remasters and remakes, as well as sequels and spinoffs."After the end of the quarter, we further strengthened our development capabilities and IP-portfolio by entering into an agreement to acquire Crystal Dynamics, Eidos Montreal, and Square Enix Montreal, including Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Thief, and Legacy of Kain and other IPs," says Embracer. "We see a great potential, not only in sequels, but also in remakes, remasters, spinoffs, as well as transmedia projects across the Group. We expect the transaction to close in the July-September period."In regards to remakes and remasters, Embracer Group will soon have plenty of franchises with long histories to choose from once the deal goes through. Both Tomb Raider and Deus Ex have older titles that are much beloved amongst their respective communities, and that's not mentioning the cult classics it's about to acquire like Thief and Legacy of Kain. It'll likely be a while before we see any projects that Embracer has planned, but this statement does at least confirm the publisher is interested in revisiting past titles.
As for what we can expect for the future of these recently acquired franchises, we know that another Tomb Raider game is currently in the works at Crystal Dynamics, and is being developed on Unreal Engine 5. Crystal Dynamics announced this news last month, although refrained from providing even a release year. It did explain that the game has "just started development" though, so we'll likely be waiting a while before we get to experience Lara Croft's next outing.