Ubisoft Gets A Complicated $1.25 Billion Bailout From Tencent

Ubsioft will spin-off its most successful game franchises, including Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six Siege, into a separate subsidiary thanks to a $1.25 billion investment from Chinese conglomerate Tencent. The massive deal allows the founding Guillemot family to remain in control of the publisher despite its recent struggles and cratering share price.

The details of the agreement are complex and it’s not immediately clear how it will all hash out in practice. The new entity doesn’t have a name yet but will have it’s own board of supervisors and include Ubisoft studios Montreal, Quebec, Sherbrooke, Saguenay, Barcelona, and Sofia. Those teams will be in charge of the Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six Siege franchises moving forward, as well as their back catalogs.

“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,” Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said in a press release on Thursday. “With its dedicated and autonomous leadership team, it will focus on transforming these three brands into unique ecosystems.”

The major deal comes after months of speculation about a possible sale of the French publisher following a year of poor sales for some of its biggest recent blockbusters, including Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora and Star Wars Outlaws, as well as delays and cancellations of other big releases, including free-to-play shooter The Division Heartland. Those rumors included a shareholder report that Ubisoft was even exploring a sale of some of its franchises to Microsoft and others. Under the new structure, series like The Division, Ghost Recon, The Crew, Prince of Persia, and Rayman will remain under Ubisoft proper.

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