Ubisoft may be circling the drain, a Chinese mega-publisher reportedly considering purchasing the Assassin’s Creed makers

Ubisoft may be circling the drain, a Chinese mega-publisher reportedly considering purchasing the Assassin's Creed makers

What you need to know

  • Ubisoft is the game publisher behind franchises like Assassin’s Creed and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six. 
  • Ubisoft’s share price has plummeted in recent months after the softer-than-expected launch of Star Wars Outlaws and the delay of Assassin’s Creed Shadows to 2025. 
  • Per a new report, Chinese tech powerhouse Tencent is considering teaming up with the Guillemot family to acquire Ubisoft. 
  • The acquisition might include plans to take the company private, and comes after Tencent acquired a stake in the Guillemot family’s holdings in 2023.

As a researcher with a keen interest in the gaming industry, I find myself intrigued by the potential acquisition of Ubisoft by Tencent, a move that could reshape the landscape of video game publishing. Having spent countless hours immersed in the rich worlds of Assassin’s Creed and Rainbow Six Siege, it’s hard not to feel a sense of nostalgia for these iconic franchises.


There could be another seismic acquisition shaking the gaming industry soon.

According to a recent report by Bloomberg, it appears that Tencent, a significant Chinese tech corporation, might join forces with the Guillemot family in an attempt to acquire Ubisoft – the creative force behind popular series like Assassin’s Creed and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege. The potential deal could involve taking Ubisoft private post-acquisition.

As a researcher, I find myself delving into the latest developments at Ubisoft, where it seems they’re grappling with escalating financial hurdles in recent times. The Star Wars Outlaws project by Massive Entertainment didn’t quite meet sales expectations, and regrettably, the much-anticipated Assassin’s Creed Shadows action-adventure game has been pushed back from its initial November 2024 release to February 2025.

Simultaneously, several Ubisoft games have been continually delayed beyond their initial release dates for multiple years now. This situation has led to a significant drop in Ubisoft’s share price, reaching its lowest point in over a decade. In the year 2023, Tencent purchased a share in the Guillemot family’s Ubisoft holdings.

Boasting more than 19,000 staff members and numerous game development studios scattered globally, Ubisoft ranks among the biggest video game publishing companies worldwide.

Ubisoft is a huge part of gaming history

Ubisoft may be circling the drain, a Chinese mega-publisher reportedly considering purchasing the Assassin's Creed makers

In 1986, the Guillemots established Ubisoft, and since then, the company has climbed its way to success through a sequence of shrewd decisions including purchasing Red Storm Entertainment, a studio based in Cary, North Carolina that was initially founded by writer Tom Clancy.

The progression persisted as games such as Assassin’s Creed were introduced, which originated from the Prince of Persia series before evolving into Ubisoft’s largest and most thriving franchise.

Previously launched RPG titled “Assassin’s Creed Valhalla,” set within the Viking universe, surpassed all predictions by amassing more than 20 million players and generating earnings surpassing $1 billion by 2020.

The action-adventure game “Assassin’s Creed: Shadows” is set to be released on February 14, 2025, available for play on Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, PlayStation 5, Mac computers, and Amazon Luna streaming platform.

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2024-10-04 18:09