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Gaming monolith Embracer Group announced today that it will break up into three new gaming and entertainment companies.
The Swedish holding company, which owns many big-name gaming franchises such as Tomb Raider (whose protagonist Lara Croft was recently voted the most iconic game character of all time), Saints Row, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance, will become three distinct entities with separate goals and mandates.
The companies will be called Asmodee Group, Coffee Stain & Friends, and Middle-earth Enterprises & Friends. The separation will allow a clearer focus for each company and is part of a larger restructuring process Embracer began last year in order to reduce its net debt.
What will each spin-off company do?
Asmodee Group
Asmodee Group will continue to focus on tabletop game publishing and distribution, alongside digital board games. It will consist of 23 fully owned studios and 300+ IPs. It is expected that ongoing collaborations between Asmodee and Middle-earth will continue after the spin-off is complete.
Amongst the IPs that Asmodee will retain are popular board games such as 7 Wonders, Ticket to Ride, Catan, and Azul. They are also developing a number of licensed properties including Lord of the Rings, Marvel, Lego, and Star Wars.
Coffee Stain & Friends
Coffee Stain & Friends will focus on indie and A/AA games, both premium and free-to-play. Several studios owned by Embracer will fall under the new Coffee Stain umbrella, separated into two segments, premium and free-to-play.
The premium branch will include Coffee Stain, Ghost Ship, THQ Nordic, and Amplifier Game Invest. IPs include Deep Rock Galactic, Goat Simulator, Valheim, and over 200 more IPs. The free-to-play branch will include Easybrain, Deca, CrazyLabs, and Cryptic. Free-to-play IPs include sudoku.com, Blockudoku, Star Trek Online, and D&D Neverwinter Online.
Middle-earth Enterprises and Friends
Middle-earth Enterprises and Friends will retain the core AAA studios and is intended to remain a “creative powerhouse” in game development. It intends to become more transparent with a structure better suited to maximize the potential of its most valuable IPs.
This AAA-focused company will include Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montreal, Vertigo Games, and Warhorse Studios. IPs include Dead Island, Killing Floor, Metro, Tomb Raider, The Lord of the Rings, and many more. This group will also include PLAION, Freemode, Dark Horse, and several other businesses.
What does this mean?
In the press release issued by Embracer, it is stated that shares of Asmodee Group and Coffee Stain & Friends will be distributed as a dividend to Embracer’s shareholders and listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange, but Middle-earth Enterprises & Friends will remain with Embracer, which will be renamed.
Part of this separation process includes a new financing arrangement through Asmodee Group, amounting to EUR 900 million. This will be used to repay existing debt.
Share distribution for Asmodee is expected to occur within 12 months, and for Coffee Stain & Friends during 2025.
At this point, it is unclear what effects this will truly have on the constituent parts of Embracer which are being spun off. In the best-case scenario, the increased operational independence will benefit the three organizations. However, with Asmodee Group taking on 900 million Euros of debt to stabilize Embracer before the separation, there are some valid concerns about the scope for their independent success. In March, Embracer had to sell Saber – the company behind Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 and Jurassic Park: Survival – as part of a cost-cutting exercise.
Additionally, Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors, through his private investment company Lars Wingefors AB, will retain a large interest in all three groups. With the intent to form a “long-term ownership structure”, Lars Wingefors AB will retail its current holdings, approximately 20% of capital and 40% of votes. Whether bold new strategies can take hold under the same banner of leadership remains to be seen, and we will be watching the
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Two short clips released by Lego Fortnite on Twitter have hinted at a pair of much-requested features – farming and animal taming.
The first clip focuses on a new line of dialogue from one of the game’s characters, Hayseed: “The local animals seem really interested in the village. I wonder if they want to live with us…”  followed by a shot of the player character, dressed as a farmer, leaping for joy. We then see the player petting a sheep, which happily follows them towards a farm.

Are you thinking what I’m thinking? pic.twitter.com/FxiRruKw1i
— LEGO Fortnite (@LEGOFortnite) April 20, 2024

In the background, there are several new items and buildings on display, suggesting that the update will include new decor items and builds. An overhanging lamp and a silo were two notable inclusions in the video that players don’t currently have access to.
The second clip, shared a few hours later, shows the construction of what appears to be a barn, along with what looks to be assigning food to a container (presumably for animals to eat when you’ve tamed them and put them in a paddock).

Let’s get to work! pic.twitter.com/DGjYoM5px8
— LEGO Fortnite (@LEGOFortnite) April 20, 2024

A subsequent post from the Lego Fortnite account on X suggests that it won’t all be sheep and pumpkins though, as an ominous sound rattles the farm. They’ve also posted a picture of a pig, an animal that isn’t currently in the game – so perhaps we’ll see some pigs in our worlds shortly.
A Lego pig, as posted by Lego Fortnite on X. Image credit: Lego Fortnite
Players have always been able to feed and pet the animals in the game to gain resources, and enterprising folks have been able to lead them into a fenced area as a facsimile of a paddock (though they tended to escape), but a proper animal taming mechanic is something many fans have longed for.
This update means gathering certain resources will become significantly easier and more viable than previously. Eggs, milk, and wool are all harvested from animals on an ongoing basis, so being able to tame and contain them will make it far simpler than having to run around the map, hunting them down.
It’s unclear at this point whether there will be any breeding mechanics added such as can be found in Minecraft – if they are, it will become much easier to get meat and feathers as well as other animal resources. If not though, players might have to protect their peaceful farm animals from harm to ensure their supplies aren’t interrupted.
This new farming update ties in with images from a recently leaked Fortnite roadmap, which had a farmhouse for April’s Lego Fortnite update. This lends strength to the legitimacy of the other plans on the roadmap.
Featured image credit: Lego Fortnite
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Snoop Dogg has hilariously responded to a diss track by Drake, who used the AI voices of the legendary rapper and Tupac Shakur against artist Kendrick Lamar.
Less than a week after “Push Ups” leaked online, Drake amped up his feud with Lamar by dropping yet another diss with the help of artificial intelligence. “Taylor Made Freestyle,” the AI version of Snoop used by Drake, heckled Lamar about responding to Drake’s “Push Ups.”
“But still, you gotta show this f***ing owl who’s boss on the West/Now’s a time to really make a power move,” he rapped on the song. “‘Cause right now it’s looking like you writing out the game plan on how to lose/How to bark up the wrong tree and then get your head popped in a crowded room.”

Taylor Made Freestyle pic.twitter.com/OrcdsIb8Wf
— Drizzy (@Drake) April 20, 2024

Fake Snoop added, “World is watching this chess game, but are you out of moves?/Dot, you know that the D-O-G never f***ing doubted you/But right now it seem like you posted up without a clue of what the f*** you ’bout to do.”
Drake steps in for the final verse. “High up in the sky like I’m Howard Hughes/The first one really only took me an hour or two/The next one is really ’bout to bring out the coward in you,” he raps.
The Canadian rapper has acknowledged Taylor Swift’s major album release, “The Tortured Poets Department,” noting that she appears to be another “boss” similar to how Kendrick’s former label, Top Dawg Entertainment, controlled his moves. “But now we gotta wait a f***king week ’cause Taylor Swift is your new Top/And if you ’bout to drop, she gotta approve/This girl really ’bout to make you act like you not in a feud.” He adds: “Yeah, shoutout to Taylor Swift/Biggest gangster in the music game right now.”
Snoop Dogg responds to Drake’s AI track along with others
Just hours after the track dropped, the Dogg Father reacted in an Instagram post. “They did what? When? How? Are you sure? Y’all have a good night,” Snoop began. Before signing off he continued, “Why everybody calling my phone, blowing me up? What the f***? What happened? What’s going on? I’m going back to bed. Good night.”

Snoop dogg reacts to AI Snoop being used on Drake second diss at Kendrick pic.twitter.com/ZFmMuVCoj2
— DJ Akademiks (@Akademiks) April 20, 2024

The star seemed rather unfazed by being featured on the track, however, whether he changes his mind remains to be seen.
Drake’s usage of AI has sparked mixed reactions on social media with some people finding it creative while others didn’t like that he used a deceased rapper to go at K-Dot. WWE champion and DJ Peter Rosenberg said: “who was the person who said “yeah man — def use AI 2pac (Tupac)” .. that person is not a real friend.” Popular hip hop YouTubers The Akademy called it “next level”. DJ Jazzy Jeff, known from the popular comedy Fresh Prince of Bel Air, sent several laughing emojis.

who was the person who said “yeah man — def use AI 2pac” .. that person is not a real friend https://t.co/4ZyieyJtiB
— Peter Rosenberg (@Rosenbergradio) April 21, 2024

Ps. I heard Drake wrote the AI verses for AI Tupac and AI Snoop Dogg. this next level. his Verse is clearly real and him tho. He wrote all 3 lmao.
— DJ Akademiks (@Akademiks) April 20, 2024

“I can’t believe yall ok with the Canadian rapper using an AI Tupac. Manipulating the deceased voice with your own words for beef is the corniest s**t I have ever seen,” wrote one person on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Ngl Tupac would have hated Drake.”
There are number of music generators making waves including Suno AI, Stability AI, and Udio’s new tool which is backed by will.i.am.
Featured image: Canva / The Come Up Show
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