Ubisoft Creates New Subsidiary for Major IPs with Tencent's €1.16B Investment

Ubisoft has recently established a new subsidiary company, focusing on its major franchises: Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six. This strategic move comes with a significant €1.16 billion (approximately $1.25 billion) investment from Tencent, a Chinese tech giant. The news follows the successful launch of Assassin's Creed Shadows, which has already surpassed 3 million players, amidst a backdrop of Ubisoft's recent struggles including high-profile flops, layoffs, studio closures, and game cancellations. With the company's share price reaching an all-time low, the pressure on Assassin's Creed Shadows to perform well is immense.

The newly formed subsidiary, valued at €4 billion (approximately $4.3 billion) and headquartered in France, aims to develop "game ecosystems designed to become truly evergreen and multi-platform." Tencent will hold a 25% stake in this venture. Ubisoft plans to leverage the increased investment and enhanced creative resources to elevate the quality of narrative solo experiences, expand multiplayer offerings with more frequent content updates, introduce free-to-play elements, and enhance social features within their games.

Ubisoft also intends to concentrate on developing its Ghost Recon and The Division franchises while continuing to expand its top-performing titles. Yves Guillemot, Ubisoft's co-founder and CEO, stated that this move marks a new chapter for the company, aimed at transforming Ubisoft's operating model to be more agile and ambitious. The focus will be on building strong, evergreen game ecosystems, growing high-performing brands, and innovating with cutting-edge technologies.

The new subsidiary will encompass the development teams for Rainbow Six, Assassin’s Creed, and Far Cry located in Montréal, Quebec, Sherbrooke, Saguenay, Barcelona, and Sofia. It will also manage Ubisoft’s back-catalog and future projects, ensuring the safety of existing developments. There have been no announcements regarding further layoffs as part of this restructuring.

The transaction is slated for completion by the end of 2025. This development is ongoing, and more updates are expected as the situation evolves.