Summary
Tencent and the Guillemot family might be buying outUbisoftfollowing the publisher’s recent commercial troubles. The Guillemots originally founded Ubisoft back in the late 1980s, though the company was originally called “Ubi Soft.” It originally released PC titles and licensed handheld games for the most part until 1995, when it found big success with the originalRaymanon PlayStation. Since then,Ubisofthas grown into one of the biggest publishers in the industry, bolstered by major franchises likeSplinter Cell,Assassin’s Creed, andPrince of Persia.
Unfortunately, the past few years haven’t been quite so fruitful for Ubisoft, as the company has been hit with numerous controversies and lackluster releases.Star Wars Outlaws, which launched to warm reviews back in August, ultimatelyfell short of Ubisoft’s sales expectations, so much so that the company’s stock fell to a 10-year low shortly after its release. The troubles would only continue from there asAssassin’s Creed Shadows, once slated to launch on November 15, was recently delayed until June 15, 2025 following multiple controversies.
There have been calls from investors for Ubisoft to go private in the face of these critical and commercial setbacks, and it now looks like the company may soon be bought out. According to unnamed sources speaking toBloomberg, Tencent Holdings Ltd. andUbisoft Entertainment SA’s founding Guillemot familyare looking into buying out the publisher as a way of stabilizing its market value. Tencent and the Guillemot family are also considering other options, and representatives from both estates have declined to comment on the subject at this time.
Ubisoft Founder Guillemot Family May Buy Out the Company
Earlier this year, Juraj Krupa of AJ Investments penned a letterrecommending that Ubisoft go privatefor the first time since 1996 in the wake of its declining stocks, and others have suggested that current Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot should step down as part of a needed course correction. Other recommendations made over the past month have included reducing staff, which would lead to even more layoffs at Ubisoft, as well as a refocusing toward the company’s big-name IPs likeRainbow Six Siege,Assassin’s Creed, andWatch Dogs.
According to a recent financial report, Ubisoft stocks have climbed by roughly 33% in Paris since news of the potential buyout by the Guillemot family andthe increasingly active Tencentfirst broke, which is the company’s steepest gain since 1996. It is still too early to tell if thisUbisoftbuyout will happen, but it seems like many agree that a change is needed for the struggling triple-A publisher.
Ubisoft
Ubisoft is a well-known video game developer and publisher with a main headquarters in Saint-Mandé, France. Current CEO Yves Guillemot runs an array of teams responsible for some of the most iconic and well-known series in video games, with franchises like Assassin’s Creed, Farcry, The Crew, Just Dance, and more. Ubisoft also acts as a parent company for an array of other video game developers, including names like Massive Entertainment, Ubisoft Paris, Blue Mammoth Games, Red Storm Entertainment, and more.
