Ubisoft has recently established a new subsidiary company centered around its renowned franchises—Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six—with a significant investment of €1.16 billion (approximately $1.25 billion) from Tencent, the Chinese tech giant. This move coincides with the successful launch of Assassin's Creed Shadows, which has already surpassed 3 million players. The launch follows a challenging period for Ubisoft, marked by high-profile flops, layoffs, studio closures, and game cancellations, which led to the company's share price reaching an all-time low. The pressure on Assassin's Creed Shadows to perform well is immense, given these circumstances.

The newly formed subsidiary, valued at €4 billion (about $4.3 billion), is headquartered in France and aims to create "game ecosystems designed to become truly evergreen and multi-platform." Tencent will hold a 25% stake in this venture. Ubisoft has outlined ambitious plans for this subsidiary, including enhancing the quality of narrative solo experiences, expanding multiplayer offerings with more frequent content releases, introducing free-to-play elements, and integrating more social features.

Ubisoft also intends to concentrate on developing its Ghost Recon and The Division franchises while continuing to expand its top-performing games. Yves Guillemot, Ubisoft's co-founder and CEO, described the establishment of the subsidiary as a "new chapter" in the company's history, emphasizing a shift towards a more agile and ambitious operating model. The goal is to create strong, evergreen game ecosystems, grow high-performing brands, and develop new IPs using cutting-edge technology.

The new subsidiary will encompass the development teams working on Rainbow Six, Assassin's Creed, and Far Cry, located in cities such as Montréal, Quebec, Sherbrooke, Saguenay, Barcelona, and Sofia. It will also manage Ubisoft’s back-catalog and any new games currently in development or planned for the future. There is no current indication of further layoffs, suggesting that existing projects are secure.

The transaction is set to be finalized by the end of 2025, marking a significant step in Ubisoft's strategic transformation.

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