Lars Wingefors, the Embracer Group CEO who has overseen thousands of job cuts and a significant number of studio closures following a turbulent few years for the company, has announced he’s stepping down from the role. He’s not, however, parting ways with Embracer, and will instead become its executive chair of the board.
“While the road has not always been straight, I am incredibly proud of the achievements made possible by our talented teams, which have created some incredible experiences for gamers,” Wingefors said in a statement announcing his change of role. “This new phase allows me to focus on strategic initiatives, M&A, and capital allocation, ensuring Embracer’s continued growth and success. I am more convinced than ever that the best is still ahead of us.”
With Wingefors’ focus shifting elsewhere, Phil Rogers will step into the vacated CEO role from 1st August. Rogers is currently deputy CEO of Embracer and CEO of Crystal Dynamics – Eidos.
Wingefors’ time as CEO has been turbulent to say the least. He oversaw a rapid period of massive expansion at Embracer, with the company embarking on a massive acquisition spree, snapping up the likes of Gearbox, Saber Interactive, Crystal Dynamics, and more – including spending €2.75bn on board game publisher Asmodee in 2021 – over a number of years prioer to 2023. However, the unsustainability of that expansion became clear after a $2bn deal with the Saudi government-funded Savvy Games Group collapsed dramatically in 2023.
Following the collapse of the partnership, Wingefors announced a “comprehensive restructuring program” that ultimately resulted in thousands of employees losing their jobs, while a substantial number of studios were either divested or outright closed. Saints Row developer Volition was closed in August 2023, for instance, while the revived Free Radical Design, which was working on a new TimeSplitters project, was shut down just a few months later. Later, Gearbox was sold to Take-Two Interactive, while Saber Interactive went its own separate way. Further layoffs, at the likes of Eidos-Montréal and Crystal Dynamics, have been announced since then.
Wingefors later admitted there was a “long list” of things he’d do differently, but that it was “easy to look back in hindsight”.