Gearbox Publishing rebrands after Embracer shake-up

Following Embracer Group’s sale of Gearbox Entertainment, Gearbox Publishing has rebranded to Arc Games. The newly minted label will handle publishing for Hyper Light Breaker when it launches, as well as other Gearbox projects.

The situation may be confusing to those who don’t follow game industry acquisitions. The short version is that Gearbox (the developer) now exists under Take-Two Interactive, while Gearbox (the publisher) is now taking the form of Arc Games.

“We’re very excited to announce that we are now Arc Games,” the publisher posted in a message on Hyper Light Breaker’s X (formerly Twitter) account Monday. “We’re the same team of passionate gamers that brought you many beloved franchises including the Remnant series, Have a Nice Death, Star Trek Online, and Neverwinter. And we can’t wait to bring you even more exciting titles like Gigantic: Rampage Edition, Hyper Light Breaker, and more soon-to-be-announced games for 2025 and beyond!”

It’s the end of an odd saga that has seen a video game publisher rebrand multiple times. In 2008, Perfect World Entertainment was established as the North American operating branch of a Chinese game development company. Over time, Perfect World Entertainment made a name for itself by publishing games such as Torchlight, Star Trek Online, Gigantic, and Remnant: From the Ashes and running the Arc game launcher. That success piqued the interest of Gearbox Entertainment, which acquired Perfect World Entertainment shortly after Gearbox itself had been swallowed up by Embracer Group. Perfect World Entertainment was then rebranded as Gearbox Publishing San Francisco, so games like Remnant 2 and Have a Nice Death fell under the same studio banner as Borderlands, even though they were from a different team within Gearbox.

The situation got even messier when Embracer Group decided to offload Gearbox Entertainment as part of its lengthy restructuring program that’s resulted in lots of layoffs. Take-Two Interactive acquired Gearbox Entertainment, but was only interested in the development branches of the company, not the publisher. This left Gearbox Publishing San Francisco still under the ownership of Embracer Group without a name. With games like Gigantic: Rampage Edition and Hyper Light Breaker imminent, Embracer Group would have to rename the label.

The rebrand to Arc Games makes sense, as it now aligns publisher’s name with the launcher and storefront established during the company’s Perfect World Entertainment era.

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