While the commercial potential of Deus Ex and most certainly Tomb Raider is surely apparent to Embracer, it may be a little bit less so with Thief. D'Astous described Square Enix's management of western studios as 'a train wreck in slow motion,' and also that he was 'losing hope that Square Enix would bring great things to Eidos.' The success of the Hitman series since it parted ways with Square Enix also supports the idea that the Japanese publisher - best known for JRPGs like Final Fantasy, Nier, and Chrono Trigger - just didn't quite know what to do with these distinctly western flavours of game. This has seemingly been confirmed by Eidos-Montreal founder Stephane D'Astous, who in a recent interview had some strong things to say about Square Enix. With three Tomb Raider and two Deus Ex games since 2011, all releasing with very good to excellent reviews, there's a strong case to be made that both series' declines can be attributed to their mismanagement by Square Enix and the publisher's general disinterest in the works of Eidos-Montreal, rather than the pulling power of the IPs themselves.

The former two games have a much stronger track record over the last decade. Now, looking at that line-up, it would be natural to assume that Embracer is really interested in Tomb Raider and Deus Ex rather than Thief.

For $300 million (pocket change in today's industry), the Swedish holding company (formerly known as THQ Nordic) bought Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montreal, and Square Enix Montreal, along with key IPs like Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, and Thief. Back in May this year, Embracer Group acquired several studios from Square Enix, along with over 50 IPs, several of which would've been considered some of the very best out there 20 or so years ago.

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