Embracer Group has announced that its CEO Lars Wingefors will step down later this year, with current deputy CEO Phil Rogers set to take on the role when Wingefors departs.
In a news post on its official website, Embracer says that Wingefors’ departure and Rogers’ appointment are both part of the “transformation process”, which will see Embracer becoming three separate entities in charge of different aspects of the current company structure later this year.
That ongoing process also saw Embracer renaming itself to Fellowship Entertainment last month, with current subsidiary Coffee Stain also due to spin off into its own entity sometime later this year.
Wingefors says that while Embracer’s “road has not always been straight”, he’s “incredibly proud” of the company’s achievements under his direction. He then says his move away from the CEO position will allow him to focus on “strategic initiatives, M&A, and capital allocation”, which I can’t imagine was his response when asked what he wanted to be as a child.
Despite his departure, Wingefors won’t be completely absent from Embracer (or Fellowship Entertainment, as it will be known by the end of the 2025 calendar year). He’ll take the position of the board’s executive chairman, with current chair Kicki Wallje-Lund moving to the deputy chair role.
Changes in Embracer’s management come after a fairly turbulent time for the company. As part of a company-wide restructuring effort, Embracer laid off hundreds of employees last year, additionally closing studios like Saints Row and Agents of Mayhem developer Volition.
Despite this, Embracer has enjoyed a couple of recent successes, most notably Warhorse Studios’ Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, which managed to sell three million copies in its first three months on sale.
It remains to be seen whether Wingefors’ stepping down will materially affect Embracer’s (or Fellowship’s) operations. Stay tuned for more on this.
