Ubisoft announced the acquisition of the upcoming MOBA March of the Giantsincluding a Montreal-based development team led by several experienced former Ubisoft developers from previous owner Amazon Game Studios.
News follows significant cuts to Amazon's game publishing business as part of a global workforce reduction. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
March of the Giants is led by creative director Xavier Marquis, who was the original creative director of Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege, and senior production executive Alexandre Parisot, who was previously managing director of Ubisoft Toronto. The March of the Giants team will be sitting in an unspecified location. Creative House at Ubisoftpart of the company's ongoing reorganization, which included the creation Subsidiary of Vantage Studios, backed by Tencent for processing releases of Assassin's Creed, Rainbow Six and Far Cry.
March of Giants was announced in September of this year and recently completed its closed alpha. In a press release announcing the acquisition, Ubisoft said the team is “currently preparing the next major update, which will introduce new giants, expanded competitive modes, and core systems designed to support long-term growth.” As part of the agreement, Amazon will also provide Ubisoft with marketing support for March of Giants on Twitch.
“March of Giants has a real opportunity to bring players something fresh and dynamic, while also helping Ubisoft compete in one of gaming's biggest arenas,” said Yves Guillemot, CEO of Ubisoft, in a press release. “We look forward to the return of Alexander, Xavier and many of the experienced members of the March of Giants team who previously worked at Ubisoft, and the ambition, creativity and talent of the entire team aligns perfectly with our desire to create bold new experiences for players. We look forward to supporting them as they shape the future of this promising new IP.”
“Returning to Ubisoft completes the circle,” said Xavier Marquis, creative director. “We've created some of our most significant work here, and we're excited to continue developing March of Giants within Ubisoft. This game has enormous potential, and I know Ubisoft can help us take it to the next level.”
“We’re proud of what our Montreal team has created with March of Giants,” said Steve Boom, vice president of audio, Twitch and gaming at Amazon. “We are confident that under Ubisoft’s leadership, Montreal’s talented developers will continue to thrive and create amazing gaming experiences.”
The news follows Amazon's October decision to lay off 14,000 workers across its wider business, which it attributed to “moving resources to ensure we're investing in our biggest bets” and resulted in significant job losses at studios in Irvine and San Diego.. New World's biggest MMO subsequently announced that it would not be receiving further updates.
In October, the company launched co-op party platformer King of Meat with an extensive marketing campaign including a MrBeast video and significant digital and outdoor advertising, but failed to make a significant impact. Game developer Glowmade laid off employees this month After reports, the game did not live up to expectations.
