Embracer Group is a global holdings company that encompasses many entrepreneurial and creative businesses and studios in the video game industry, as well as similar related media. Embracer has a catalogue of over 450 controlled and/or owned franchises within its “operative groups” PLAION, THQ Nordic, Amplifier Game Invest, DECA Games, Freemode, Dark Horse, Coffee Stain, and Crystal Dynamics-Eidos.
Last year the company announced that it would be splitting into three separate companies; Coffee Stain & Friends, Asmodee, and Middle Earth & Friends, each of which to be listed separately on the stock exchange. Following the separation of Asmodee in February 2025, Embracer is entering their “next step in the transformation” announcing that they intend to spin-off Coffee Stain Group (previously Coffee Stain & Friends) into a standalone group of community-driven game publishers and developers by the end of 2025.
When they announced this information about Coffee Stain, they stated that they intend for them to focus on indie / AA games, community-driven free-to-play games, and LiveOps games.
Anton Westbergh, co-founder and Group CEO of Coffee Stain had this to say:
“We’re really proud of everything we’ve built as part of Embracer, and grateful for the support and trust we’ve received over the years,”
“Now, as we take the step to become a separately listed company, it feels both exciting and, honestly, a little bit scary—but in a good way.
“The games industry is more competitive than ever, but also more rewarding if you do things right, and we believe this move gives us the clarity and control to navigate the landscape better on our own terms. We can now focus even more on what we do best supporting our developers, staying close to our communities, and building an even brighter future for Coffee Stain.”
Lars Wingefors, co-founder and Group CEO of Embracer, said:
“Coffee Stain Group has incredible talent, IPs and communities.
“To date, it has been a true recipe for success. I am confident in Anton’s strategy and leadership and see a clear long-term opportunity in attracting and enabling partnerships with like-minded independent game developers and talents.”
Embracer is also renaming Middle Earth & Friends to Fellowship Entertainment and will have them handle titles like the obvious The Lord of the Rings games, but also the Tomb Raider and Metro games, Kingdom Come Deliverance, Killing Floor, Dead Island, Darksiders, and more.
Fellowship Entertainment is made up of developers like Aspyr, CrazyLabs, 4A Games, Crystal Dynamics, Dambuster Studios, DECA Games, Dark Horse, Flying Wild Hog, Eidos-Montréal, Limited Run Games, Gunfire Games, Milestone, Middle-earth Enterprises, Plaion, THQ Nordic, Tarsier, Tripwire Interactive, Warhorse Studios, and Vertigo games, among another 40 or so more companies that all make games that you have almost certainly played at least a few of during your time gaming.
With such great developers and publishers under the Embracer umbrella, I look forward to their continued transformation and am hopeful for a positive future for the industry, from AAA titles to indie darlings, and everything in between.
