Sandbox Strategies, a boutique gaming PR and influencer agency founded by former Rockstar Games employees in 2005, has quietly ceased operations after two decades in the industry. The agency, which worked on everything from Grand Theft Auto and Big Game Hunter to recent hits like Baldur’s Gate 3, became another casualty of the Embracer Group [finance:Embracer Group AB] restructuring that has devastated the gaming industry over the past two years.
From Rockstar to Independent Success
Corey Wade, Rob Fleischer, and Bill Benners founded Sandbox Strategies in 2005 after leaving their positions at Rockstar Games. The trio had a simple mission: start their own PR and marketing agency where they could work on games they loved, with people they liked, on a schedule that wouldn’t anger their spouses. The informal beginning belied what would become one of the most respected agencies in gaming.
What separated Sandbox from other PR firms was the strength of their relationships with media and influencers. They believed in active outreach rather than automated campaigns, leveraging deep marketplace understanding to execute strategic campaigns that elevated brands above the competition. Their client roster over the years included Saber Interactive, Larian Studios, Focus Home Interactive, Crystal Dynamics, Raw Fury, THQ Nordic, Fatshark, and Crytek.
The Embracer Acquisition That Sealed Their Fate
In November 2022, Embracer Group acquired Sandbox Strategies as part of its massive expansion strategy. The agency was placed under Saber Interactive, with whom they had already maintained a longstanding working relationship. Matthew Karch, then CEO of Saber Interactive, praised Sandbox for their hard work and dedication to excellence, stating that bringing them internal would create an even closer working relationship.
At the time, the acquisition seemed like a positive move. Sandbox would remain a standalone group continuing to work with clients across the gaming industry while collaborating more extensively with developers and publishers within Embracer. The purchase price included a mix of cash and Embracer B shares, though the exact terms were not disclosed.
Then Everything Collapsed
The gaming industry’s largest corporate implosion began in June 2023 when a $2 billion investment deal with the Saudi Arabian-backed Savvy Games Group fell apart. This triggered a catastrophic restructuring program at Embracer that would ultimately result in 7,761 job losses, the closure or divestment of 44 studios, and the cancellation of nearly 80 in-development games between 2023 and 2025.
In March 2024, Saber Interactive split from Embracer Group in a $500 million deal to private investors. This divestment included 38 ongoing game development projects and numerous studios. Sandbox Strategies was explicitly listed among the assets that left Embracer as part of this transaction, alongside all Saber-branded studios, DIGIC, Mad Head Games, New World Interactive, and others.
The Client List Tells the Story
Over 20 years, Sandbox Strategies worked on some of the gaming industry’s most significant titles. Their portfolio spanned from early work on Grand Theft Auto during their Rockstar days to modern masterpieces like Baldur’s Gate 3, which won Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2023. They handled PR for everything from indie darlings to AAA blockbusters across PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, VR platforms, and mobile.
The agency specialized in media and influencer strategy during a period when gaming media underwent massive transformation. Traditional game journalism declined while YouTube creators, Twitch streamers, and social media influencers became the primary way players discovered new games. Sandbox adapted to this changing landscape, building relationships with content creators who could reach millions of viewers.
| Era | Notable Clients/Projects | Industry Changes |
|---|---|---|
| 2005-2010 | Early indie titles, THQ Nordic projects | Rise of digital distribution, Steam growth |
| 2011-2015 | Mobile hits, VR launch titles | Mobile gaming explosion, VR emergence |
| 2016-2020 | Crystal Dynamics, Focus Home Interactive | Influencer marketing dominance, Twitch growth |
| 2021-2024 | Baldur’s Gate 3, Saber Interactive titles | Pandemic gaming boom, corporate consolidation |
What Happens to Gaming PR in This Environment
The closure of Sandbox Strategies reflects broader problems in the gaming industry. As publishers consolidate and budgets tighten, external agencies become expendable. Large corporations prefer bringing PR functions in-house or cutting them entirely during financial difficulties. The specialized knowledge and relationships that made boutique agencies valuable simply don’t matter when parent companies are desperately trying to stop bleeding money.
For the developers and publishers who relied on Sandbox, this creates immediate challenges. PR and influencer outreach aren’t optional in modern game marketing. Without expert guidance, even great games can disappear in the noise of hundreds of releases every month. Smaller studios that worked with Sandbox may lack the budget or expertise to handle these functions internally.
The Embracer Restructuring Disaster
Sandbox Strategies represents just one small piece of the devastation Embracer Group caused across the gaming industry. Between 2023 and 2025, the company went from acquiring studios at a breakneck pace to dismantling its empire just as quickly. The human cost was staggering, with thousands of developers losing jobs and decades of institutional knowledge disappearing overnight.
Some of the biggest casualties included Volition, the studio behind Saints Row and Red Faction, which closed in August 2023 after nearly 30 years. Free Radical Design was shut down in December 2023 while working on a TimeSplitters revival. Countless indie studios saw funding evaporate, and experimental projects were canceled before ever reaching players. The creative loss extended far beyond just jobs to include the games themselves.
Where the Team Went
The fate of individual Sandbox Strategies employees remains unclear. In typical fashion for this type of closure, there was no dramatic announcement or public farewell. The agency simply stopped operating, with staff members likely scattering to other positions throughout the industry or leaving gaming entirely. Some may have been absorbed into Saber Interactive’s internal marketing teams, while others probably sought positions at competing agencies or publishers.
This quiet disappearance has become disturbingly common in the gaming industry’s ongoing contraction. Companies close, people lose jobs, and institutional knowledge vanishes without fanfare. The relationships Sandbox built over 20 years with journalists, influencers, and creators don’t transfer to their next roles. The expertise developed working across hundreds of campaigns simply evaporates.
What This Means for Future Game Marketing
The closure of experienced agencies like Sandbox Strategies pushes more marketing responsibility onto developers and publishers who may lack the resources or expertise to handle it effectively. Smaller studios that previously outsourced PR work must now either hire internal staff, work with less experienced agencies, or attempt to manage everything themselves while also developing their games.
This consolidation benefits large publishers with established marketing departments but hurts indie and mid-tier developers who relied on agencies to level the playing field. As specialized PR firms disappear, the gap widens between games with massive marketing budgets and those without, making it even harder for quality titles to find audiences in an increasingly crowded marketplace.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happened to Sandbox Strategies?
Sandbox Strategies ceased operations after being caught in the Embracer Group restructuring. The agency was acquired by Embracer in 2022, then divested as part of Saber Interactive’s split from Embracer in March 2024, and subsequently shut down.
Who founded Sandbox Strategies?
Corey Wade, Rob Fleischer, and Bill Benners founded Sandbox Strategies in 2005 after leaving their positions at Rockstar Games. The three veterans wanted to start their own agency focused on games they loved.
What games did Sandbox Strategies work on?
Over 20 years, Sandbox worked on hundreds of titles including Grand Theft Auto, Baldur’s Gate 3, and games from publishers like Larian Studios, Crystal Dynamics, THQ Nordic, Focus Home Interactive, Raw Fury, Fatshark, and Crytek.
Why did Embracer Group collapse?
Embracer Group’s collapse began in June 2023 when a $2 billion investment deal with Saudi Arabia-backed Savvy Games Group fell apart. This triggered massive restructuring that included laying off 7,761 employees, closing 44 studios, and canceling nearly 80 games.
What was special about Sandbox Strategies?
Sandbox specialized in active rather than automated outreach, building strong relationships with gaming media and influencers. They understood how gaming culture constantly reinvented itself and adapted their strategies accordingly.
Are there other gaming PR agencies still operating?
Yes, numerous gaming PR agencies continue operating, though the industry has seen consolidation. Larger agencies and publisher-owned internal teams increasingly dominate the space, making it harder for boutique firms to compete.
What does this mean for indie game developers?
The loss of experienced agencies like Sandbox means indie developers have fewer options for professional PR support. They must either handle marketing themselves, hire more expensive agencies, or work with less experienced firms, potentially hurting their games’ visibility.
Is Saber Interactive still operating?
Yes, Saber Interactive continues operating after splitting from Embracer Group in March 2024. The studio is now owned by private investors and took 38 game projects with them when they left Embracer.
Conclusion
The closure of Sandbox Strategies after 20 years represents another tragic loss in the gaming industry’s ongoing consolidation crisis. What started as three friends leaving Rockstar to build something special became a respected agency that helped shape how hundreds of games reached audiences. Their expertise navigating the shift from traditional gaming journalism to influencer-driven marketing made them invaluable partners for developers and publishers across two decades. But that institutional knowledge, those carefully built relationships, and years of experience couldn’t survive being swept up in Embracer Group’s catastrophic mismanagement. The acquisition that seemed like a natural evolution in 2022 became a death sentence by 2024, as Embracer’s restructuring destroyed not just Sandbox but dozens of studios and thousands of careers. For the gaming industry, this represents yet another reminder that consolidation comes with real human costs and that the pursuit of endless growth often ends in spectacular collapse. The developers who relied on Sandbox now face the challenge of marketing their games in an increasingly difficult environment, while the talented people who built the agency over two decades scatter to uncertain futures. Twenty years of gaming PR excellence simply vanished, becoming another footnote in the story of Embracer’s failure.