Ubisoft announced its deal with Tencent “is on track to close in the coming days” as the Chinese conglomerate takes a minority stake in its new subsidiary Vantage Studios.
New studio, officially unveiled back in Octoberwill be home to Ubisoft's biggest franchises: Far Cry, Rainbow Six Siege and Assassin's Creed. Charlie Guillemot, son of Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot, will become co-CEO. with Christophe Derenne.
This news, included in Ubisoft's latest earnings report, follows last minute report delay last week and a halt to share trading, prompting speculation of a larger acquisition. This now appears unfounded – instead the delay was caused by problems with new auditors and income reporting.
In a statement, Yves Guillemot called the merger with Tencent “an important milestone in Ubisoft's transformation, which will significantly strengthen our financial position by raising €1.16 billion in cash, allowing the Group to deleverage as planned.” He added: “It will also enable Vantage Studios to accelerate the growth of our three flagship IPs under the leadership of a dedicated leadership team.”
In January, Ubisoft will announce its new operating model, built around Creative Houses. The first of these will be Vantage Studios and its three main franchises, guided by the principles of “autonomy, focus and player-centricity.” Ubisoft hopes to turn these franchises into “annual brand ecosystems worth billions of euros.”
Elsewhere in the report, Ubisoft's net bookings rose 20 percent year-on-year in the first half of this fiscal year. This is partly due to the “high performance” Assassin's Creed Gamesincluding Shadows, while Rainbow Six Siege remains popular, although its move to free-to-play has caused a “temporary spike in cheating.”
The company's last major release in 2025 will be Assassin's Creed Shadows on Switch 2which will arrive on December 2nd.
Last month, the protagonist of the Assassin's Creed series Marc-Alexis Coté announces his departure from Ubisoft. In an internal memo, Dereness said Cote “has his own expectations and priorities regarding the creation and future of Vantage Studios.” However, Côté later clarified that Ubisoft asked him to “step aside.”.
