By announcing on Tuesday the strengthening of China’s Tencent in its capital, without the latter having any influence on its management, Ubisoft cut short speculation of a possible takeover by a third party. The French video game publisher, which has suffered commercial setbacks and an image crisis since 2020 following harassment actions, is now looking to calm down about its long-term industrial strategy. Which is likely to raise the stock market valuation well below that of its US rivals EA, Take-Two or Activision.
“Video gaming will not be immune to the challenges of inflation, hybrid labor, and heightened competition. But our industry will continue to reach new heights and will soon surpass other entertainment in influence and engagement.“, the executive director of the company Yves Guillemot announced during the press conference. “I am convinced that Ubisoft has all the capabilities to be a major player.»
Capital on three strong brands
Among them is the publisher’s rich catalog of patents, three of which will be the focus of particular attention: Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry and Rainbow Six. Ubisoft wants these brands to generate $2 billion in annual revenue by 2027, three times more than today. And to achieve this,we want to turn them into iconic media franchises and become major players in pop culture“, – emphasizes portfolio director Sandrine Kaloyaro.
In addition to premium games for gamers, Ubisoft wants to attract a wider audience with TV series, movies and more affordable games. Projects are in production with Netflix, including three mobile games reserved for its subscribers. The three licenses will also be activated.”across all screens with a strong focus on mobileYves Guillemot continues.
This last point partly explains Tencent’s interest in the French group. Chinese is for Activision Call of Duty Mobile:, a huge commercial success. Will he also be working on Ubisoft mobile games? The editor does not wish to comment on this item.
Five new Assassin’s Creed games
The team demonstrated this strategy on Saturday during the Ubisoft Forward conference. He introduced no fewer than five games from the Assassin’s Creed license for console and PC (Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Red, Hexe), one of which is multiplayer (Invictus:), as well as for mobile (Assassin’s Creed Jade, what will happen… in China). He also lifted a corner of the curtain on Assassin’s Creed Infinity, the still-mysterious online platform that will bring together all the games in the saga, past and future. Finally, in addition to the series, the saga will also have its own mobile game on Netflix.
If Ubisoft wants to push three brands, it doesn’t intend to lump its dozens of other licenses into one box. The group has one of the most diverse creative catalogs on the market. A Ubisoft + subscription service asset that will soon be available on consoles and that will be open to games from other studios. So it’s an alternative to Microsoft’s Game Pass and Sony’s PlayStation Plus.
The door remains open to the buyer
“We also have a unique ability in the industry to create new brands. Some in development rely on new technologies such as the cloud, Voxel, augmented and virtual reality“, Yves Guillemot reveals. The group also points to its tools as an asset, such as the Anvil and Snowdrop game engines. “As the industry refocuses on the Unity and Unreal engines, having our own technologies will be a strong competitive advantage and a source of creative freedom.In the same spirit, Ubisoft is working on Scalar, a production tool based on cloud computing.
The French group also points to its 23,000 developers spread across dozens of studios around the world as a strength. The latter were troubled by speculation that Ubisoft would be the preferred choice for Sony or Amazon at a time of consolidation in the video game industry. The clarification of the partnership with Tencent, which protects the group from any hostile action for eight years;restores the long-term prospects of our employees“, Yves Guillemo emphasizes. However, the group would like to point out that Ubisoft is not closing the door on takeover offers that will be considered by its board of directors.
Source: Le Figaro
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.