Ubisoft forms new subsidiary with Tencent focused on three franchises
Today, via a press release, Ubisoft announced that it is forming a new subsidiary with its three most successful franchises. Tencent will hold a minority stake.
Today, Ubisoft announced a major change to its organization structure in Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, which has received solid reviews and sold well, despite recent troubles at Ubisoft and internet backlash.
Ubisoft forms a new subsidiary with three top franchises, with Tencent as minority investor
Anyone that has been following the video game industry over the last few years likely has heard about Ubisoft’s the company’s hopes were riding on Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, the highly anticipated new entry in the franchise.
While Assassin’s Creed: Shadows has been where it saved the company from having to make these kinds of decisions. Rumors of Tencent acquiring Ubisoft were heard as recently as last October. The success of Assassin’s Creed: Shadows likely helped bolster Ubisoft’s bargaining power, but that’s about it.
In the press release, Ubisoft described this move as “accelerating its transformation by taking an important step in rapidly evolving its operating model…” They went on to say: “This new subsidiary will focus on building game ecosystems designed to become truly evergreen and multi-platform…” The subsidiary will “drive further increases in quality of narrative solo experiences, expand multiplayer offerings with increased frequency of content release, introduce free-to-play touchpoints, and integrate more social features.” With the recent announcement of the major update, Rainbow Six Siege X, it’s easy to imagine Ubisoft plans to continue to the live service title that has continued to remain evergreen for them. Notably, this update will also make the classic tactical shooter free-to-play for the first time.
As for the Ubisoft teams and franchises left behind in the creation of this subsidiary, we will have to wait to see what happens next. This includes such video game franchises as The Division and Ghost Recon. Hopefully this does not mean we will see more layoffs or studio closures in the future, but with how the industry has been lately, it’s hard to be optimistic.
