Swedish game company Embracer Group has just made a blockbuster deal to acquire Crystal Dynamics, Eidos-Montréal and Square Enix Montréal for what seems like a bargain $300 million price, the company confirmed in a press release. The deal includes a "catalogue of IPs including Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, Thief, Legacy of Kain and more than 50 back-catalogue games from Square Enix Holdings," it wrote. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval. Those studios represent around 1,100 employees across eight global locations, the company noted. When the deal is finalized, Embracer will have 14,000 employees, 10,000 game developers and 124 internal studios.

There are about a million games releasing, Gamescom is next week, PAX in two weeks--it's starting to get pretty damn busy around here again. Both Brad Chacos and I will be in Germany for Gamescom next week, so keep an eye out for previews, announcements, and maybe even a video or two. It's mostly QuakeCon news this week, including 25 minutes of Doom talk, but you'll also find a smattering of early Gamescom trailers below, a tease for Vermintide II's first DLC, and a surprise TimeSplitters acquisition by Deep Silver. This is gaming news for August 13 to 17. As I said, Gamescom is still four or five days away--but not for everyone, evidently. Tropico 6 got out ahead of the competition and dropped this so-called "Gamescom Trailer" this week.