By Sagar V. Mankar 
Embracer Group is finally seeing a bright spot amid its recent struggles, as its latest release, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, nears the 2 million sales mark. According to Embracer’s latest financial report, the medieval role-playing game, developed by Warhorse Studios, has performed exceptionally well, selling over 1 million copies within its first 24 hours of launch. The game also peaked at 250,000 concurrent players on Steam, indicating strong player interest.
The success of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 has provided a much-needed boost for Embracer, which has faced significant financial and operational challenges in recent years. The company has been forced to downsize its portfolio, including selling major studios and laying off employees, following the collapse of a critical funding deal. However, with the impressive launch of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, Embracer sees a reminder of its core mission—to bring high-quality games to market.
Embracer co-founder and CEO Lars Wingefors expressed his confidence in the game’s long-term potential. He highlighted that Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is expected to generate substantial revenue over the coming years due to its immersive gameplay and strong appeal among RPG fans. Wingefors also emphasized the importance of supporting development teams with the necessary resources and time to execute their creative visions, stating that such an approach benefits not only gamers but also employees and shareholders.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 launched on February 4 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. The game’s sales figures have significantly outpaced its predecessor, which peaked at 96,069 concurrent players on Steam seven years ago. The actual player count is likely even higher, considering the game’s availability on consoles, though exact numbers for those platforms remain undisclosed.
In addition to its initial success, Warhorse Studios has laid out an extensive post-launch roadmap for Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. The game will receive multiple updates, including free content like horse racing and a hardcore mode. Furthermore, three paid expansions are planned, and official mod support will be introduced in the near future, ensuring ongoing engagement from the player community.
Despite this success, Embracer continues to face broader financial challenges. The company reported a 3% year-over-year decline in net sales for Q3 FY2025, amounting to SEK 7.4 billion ($681.5 million). The publisher’s PC and console game revenue also fell by 23% year-over-year. However, the entertainment and services category showed growth, with sales increasing 19% year-over-year to SEK 3.1 billion ($285.8 million), becoming the company’s most lucrative division in Q3. The mobile gaming division also showed a modest 2% growth to generate SEK 1.7 billion ($156.5 million), though mobile EBIT declined by 34.5% to SEK 400 million ($36.7 million).
Overall, Embracer’s total net sales for the first nine months of the fiscal year reached SEK 17 billion ($1.6 billion), representing a 22% decline from the previous year’s SEK 21.7 billion ($2 billion). The adjusted EBIT also decreased from SEK 3.9 billion to SEK 2.3 billion.
The company has undergone significant restructuring, including workforce reductions. Development staff numbers dropped from 9,896 in December 2023 to 5,757 by December 2024, with total headcount decreasing from 12,695 to 7,873. A major strategic move involved spinning off the Asmodee Group as a separate public entity on Nasdaq Stockholm, helping to address Embracer’s $1.5 billion debt.
Looking forward, Embracer has outlined an extensive development pipeline with 10 triple-A games planned for release over the next three financial years. Eight of these titles are being developed internally, with two from external studios. Among its upcoming releases, Killing Floor 3 is set to launch later this quarter, while anticipated mid-sized games include the Gothic 1 Remake, Titan Quest II, Deep Rock Galactic: Rogue Core, and several unannounced projects.
With Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 exceeding expectations, Embracer is hopeful that its upcoming titles will continue this momentum.