On March 27th, Ubisoft announced that it was forming a new subsidiary company with Tencent that will include the company’s three biggest franchises: Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six. Tencent will invest €1.16 billion for a 25% stake in the subsidiary, in what Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot calls a “historic agreement.”
But what does this new subsidiary mean for Ubisoft’s “big three franchises,” and what does it mean for the other games?
What Does the Ubisoft/Tencent Deal Mean for Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six?
The wording of the announcement and Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot’s internal memo indicate that these three franchises will be the primary focal point for Ubisoft and Tencent. In Yves’ memo, he refers to Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six as the company’s “three most powerful franchises.” The explicit goal of the Tencent investment is “boosting these franchises so they become undisputed global icons,” according to Yves.
- Assassin’s Creed just had a much needed successful launch with Shadows. The game has reached more than 3 million players in a week since launch, has been well received critically, and has the second highest day one sales in franchise history.
- Rainbow Six Siege just celebrated its 10 year anniversary, and is “evolving” into R6 Siege X in the near future. The game has retained a large playerbase and a thriving esports scene since launch.
- Far Cry is one of Ubisoft’s most recognized and successful series. Far Cry 6, the series’ most recent installment, released in 2021, and sold over 10 million copies during its first fiscal year.
As for what Tencent’s investment will actually go towards, the only publicly available information is vague. Yves said the new subsidiary gill will “gather the teams working on these brands,” which could imply that some employees will have to move studios. Yves also said the “investment will also give us the means to accelerate the changes we’ve been discussing for several months…which aim to put the creation of unique games and player satisfaction back at the heart of our daily work.”
What About the Other Ubisoft Games?
Of course, there are plenty of other franchises and titles under the Ubisoft banner other than their “big three.” These include various live-service titles as well as a handful of recently released titles:
- Ghost Recon, Splinter Cell, For Honor, Skull & Bones, The Division, Motorfest, Just Dance, Riders Republic, Prince of Persia, Star Wars: Outlaws, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, Rayman, Anno
A number of games that fall under these franchises are currently in development: Tom Clancy’s The Division Resurgence, remakes for The Sands of Time and Splinter Cell, and an untitled Rayman game, just to name a few.
So what does Tencent’s investment into the “big three” subsidiary mean for the rest of Ubisoft’s lineup? According to an internal email acquired by Insider Gaming, Ubisoft management is assuring employees that their work doesn’t matter any less. But some employees aren’t convinced. “We feel [expletive] if we’re not on the big three,” one current Ubisoft employee said. “They can say these things in an email, but when it comes down to it, we feel like we know where priorities are.”
According to the official press release, “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.”
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Sell Splinter Cell, Beyond Good & Evil, Prince Of Persia, and Rayman to Microsoft they can have the Activision studios work on them. Sell Driver back to Atari.
Nothing Tencent wasted money and the conmen keep power in the Guilemot family. Tencent pull out and buy Epic already save Fortnite.