Saints Row Launch Didn't Go To Plan, Embracer CEO Still Confident It Will Turn Profit

Developer Volition's Saints Row reboot launched at the end of August, but the game didn't make the kind of splash that parent company Embracer Group might have wanted. CEO Lars Wingefors said during the company's annual general meeting that he wished the game had a "greater reception," according to Eurogamer.

He added that the reception to the new Saints Row was "polarized." Wingefors added: "There are a lot of things that could be said and details around it. I'm happy to see a lot of gamers and fans happy. At the same time I'm a bit sad to see fans also not happy,."

The new Saints Row had some bugs and other issues at launch, and Wingefors said there are fixes and patches coming. In the end, Wingefors believes the new Saints Row will be a money-maker.

"I'm confident we will make money on the investment. Would it have [been] as great a return of investment that we have seen in many other games? Not very likely, but we will make money and that's a good starting point," he said.

As for whether or not the cool reception to the new Saints Row could impact the future of the series, Wingefors said he always wants each new entry in a series to be more successful than the last. This might not always be possible, but Wingefors said, "What you do is... evaluate your position, the outcome ... and there [are] hundreds of people engaged in this game in the group... I still have a great trust in those people, and I am sure they will recommend things for the future."

The new Saints Row might not have had the strongest start, but it still was the No. 2 best-selling game overall in the US during August behind Madden NFL 23.