Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot revealed that the company received a “new lease of life” after it struck a deal with Chinese conglomerate Tencent to create a new subsidiary that would house its Assassin’s Cred, Far Cry, and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six brands.
Ubisoft announced its deal with Tencent back at the end of March revealing that it would create a new subsidiary to house Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six brands as well as its development teams based in received Montreal, Quebec, Sherbrooke, Saguenay, Barcelona, and Sofia and any IP they currently have in development. This new subsidiary is being bankrolled by €1.16 billion investment from Tencent in exchange for 25% of it.
At the time of the announcement, Guillemot said, “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.”
Now, in an an alleged internal email announcing a new Transformation Committee for the new subsidiary that was acquired by French-language site BFM Tech & Co, Guillemot wrote, “We have just passed a pivotal moment in the history of Ubisoft, which, strengthened by this agreement and the success of Assassin's Creed Shadows, benefits from a new lease of life.”
According to BFM Tech & Co, this new Transformation Committee will be helmed by Guillemot’s son, Charlie alongside Ubisoft’s General Manager Marie-Sophie De Waubert. The 10-person committee is reportedly tasked with rethinking Ubisoft while also finding €100 million in savings over 2 years within 100 days.
Guillemot added, “The future that lies ahead requires new energy and a passion for games that corresponds to the current era.”
Ubisoft had a disastrous 2024-25 FY. The company revealed in its 2024-25 full year report that it had a net income loss of €159 million euros. Just a year ago the company expected its net bookings to surpass that of the 2023-24 fiscal year, which clocked in at €2.321 billion. However, in this past fiscal year, it posted net bookings of just €1.85 billion. That was down over 20% compared to the previous year.
Furthermore, while Guillemot is touting Assassin’s Creed Shadows as a success, based on the company’s expectations and its actual results in the fourth quarter when the game released, it appears it missed the company’s expectations. Back in February, during its third quarter 2024-25 sales report, Ubisoft projected it would have net bookings of €1.9 billion for the year. It failed to hit that mark by €50 million. It’s likely much of that projected revenue was supposed to come from Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
The company’s stock price has declined over 22% since the beginning of the year as well. Additionally, it’s decline nearly 85% over the last 5 years.
What do you make of Guillemot’s comments?
Not only can they not make a good game that is not woke the CEO can't even get the idiom he uses right! It's a 'New Lease ON Life', not OF Life.
May they find the buddha's mercy. Our grand children are on that path if this continues