Saber Interactive has reportedly found an exit strategy from the death grip of its parent company, Embracer Group AB<\/a>. Bloomberg<\/em> reported<\/a> Thursday that \u201ca group of private investors\u201d will buy the studio in a deal worth roughly $500 million. Saber would then become a private company with about 3,500 employees.<\/p>\n Engadget emailed a spokesperson from Saber for confirmation about the alleged buyout. The studio declined to comment.<\/p>\n The alleged agreement would be one of Embracer\u2019s most significant cost-cutting moves since the collapse of a reported $2 billion deal<\/a> with a group backed by Saudi Arabia\u2019s sovereign wealth fund. Some criticized the imperiled deal as the gaming equivalent of \u201csportswashing,\u201d using popular sporting acquisitions and partnerships to boost beleaguered governments\u2019 global images. That followed US intelligence\u2019s conclusion<\/a> that the Saudi regime murdered<\/a> The Washington Post<\/em> reporter Jamal Khashoggi in late 2018.<\/p>\n Other cost-cutting moves at Embracer have included laying off about 900 employees in September, cutting another 50 or so jobs at Chorus<\/em> developer Fishlabs and implementing more layoffs at Tiny Tina\u2019s Wonderland developer Lost Boys Interactive<\/em><\/a>, Beamdog, Crystal Dynamics and Saber subsidiary New World Interactive. Embracer also closed Saints Row<\/em> studio Volition Games<\/a> and Campfire Cabal.<\/p>\n