Ubisoft has announced that it’s creating a subsidiary which will focus on its main three IPs, and will be partly owned by Tencent.
The new subsidiary will be based on the Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six brands, and will be “backed by greater investment and boosted creative capabilities” in an attempt to push each series forwards.
The subsidiary has been valued at around €4 billion, and Tencent will be investing €1.16 billion to gain a minority stake of around 25% in it.
What exactly this means for fans of the series remains to be seen at this stage, but the investment by Tencent likely gives it a degree of influence over the future direction of Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry and Rainbow Six.
Ubisoft says the new subsidiary, backed by Tencent’s investment, “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.”
“The new subsidiary would include the teams developing the Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six, Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry franchises based in Montréal, Quebec, Sherbrooke, Saguenay, Barcelona, and Sofia as well as the back catalogue and any new games currently under development or to be developed,” it added.
“Today Ubisoft is opening a new chapter in its history,” Ubisoft co-founder and CEO Yves Guillemot said in a statement. “As we accelerate the company’s transformation, this is a foundational step in changing Ubisoft’s operating model that will enable us to be both agile and ambitious.
“We are focused on building strong game ecosystems designed to become evergreen, growing high-performing brands and creating new IPs powered by cutting-edge and emerging technologies.
“With the creation of a dedicated subsidiary that will spearhead development for three of our largest franchises and the onboarding of Tencent as a minority investor, we are crystalizing the value of our assets, strengthening our balance sheet, and creating the best conditions for these franchises’ long-term growth and success. With its dedicated and autonomous leadership team, it will focus on transforming these three brands into unique ecosystems.”
Alongside the creation of the new subsidiary, Ubisoft says it will continue working on other IP outside of the three that have moved over.
“In parallel to the creation of this new entity, Ubisoft will focus on nurturing the development of iconic franchises including Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon and The Division, accelerating the growth of top performing titles and leveraging disruptive technologies on selected new IPs, while continuing to deliver state-of-the-art production game engines and online services,” it said in a statement.
