Ubisoft’s three biggest properties (Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six) are about to “move to a new home.” It has been confirmed that Ubisoft and Tencent have teamed up to create a new subsidiary that will manage these three franchises with the goal of enhancing their quality.
According to the statement, this new direction “will drive a greater increase in the quality of solo narrative experiences, expand multiplayer offerings with more frequent content releases, introduce free touchpoints, and add more social features.”
Ubisoft Remains the Owner
Despite the alliance, this new subsidiary will remain 100% owned by Ubisoft, based in France. Tencent’s investment, which amounted to 1,160 million euros, was made in exchange for a 25% economic stake. Following the closure of the transaction, the new subsidiary will continue to be exclusively controlled and consolidated by Ubisoft.
Additionally, there is a 5-year “lock-up” commitment on the shares of the new subsidiary owned by Tencent, unless Ubisoft ceases to hold the majority of the voting rights and the share capital of the new subsidiary.
Ubisoft will not be able to transfer the majority of voting rights and share capital for a period of 2 years. There will also be purchase options in favor of Ubisoft and sale options in favor of Tencent. This options apply in the event of certain control changes in Ubisoft, approved by its board of directors.
Conditions prior to the transaction:
- Issuance of a fairness opinion by Finexsi as an independent expert.
- Completion of the carve-out to create the new subsidiary.
- Obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals.
What Does This Mean for Players?
Although Tencent’s investment in Ubisoft might create the illusion of an imminent purchase, this is not the case. The creation of this new subsidiary could offer the developers of Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six greater creative freedom, better budgets, and the possibility to experiment with new technologies.
The initial intention is for players to receive higher quality games, and for the development to be optimized. However, since the subsidiary is still controlled by Ubisoft, it is Ubisoft that has the final say.
If there are no changes in the mindset of Ubisoft’s board of directors, this could translate into greater pressure on the development teams to continue with the current release schemes, which could result in the opposite of what was promised.
Personally, I am optimistic and hope that this decision will provide better experiences for both players and developers. Only time will tell if this new direction will meet expectations. Or, on the contrary, the franchises may turn into games as a service focused solely on milking players’ pockets.
What do you think about the creation of this subsidiary? What are your expectations for the future of these three major franchises? Tell us in the comments!
Source: GlobeNewswire.
