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[Hookshot]

Do you think Ubisoft will survive into 2026? The rumored Tencent buyout seems to have fallen flat at the moment but the year has a long way to go, so here is a simple enough 4 choice poll.

Maybe Shadows will save them, they might have a Switch 2 hit yet to be announced, a lot could happen.

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

If Shadows doesn't become a megahit, they are done. Their current situation gives the impression of being on life support awaiting to go one way or the other.

 

[Cakeboxer]

I think Shadows will flop and we'll see lots of releases.

 

[Thief1987]

They have plenty of room to downsize, I'm not seeing that they will collapse fast.

 

[EverydayBeast]

They have one year left, my helpful advice to Ubisoft to survivor is take a play out of activisions or EA’s playbook take away one of your franchises, and do one thing better than the rest (cod’s yearly formula, battlefield’s scale), once again indulge in rainbow six, fantastic franchise, ghost recon was celebrated, splinter cell was beloved and Ubisoft I don’t understand leaves that alone, that New York shooter gave us all kinds of fun, nobody thought assassins creed should be a yearly release I would relax on that franchise like one every 10 years similar to Zelda….

 

[pudel]

I have no idea. The problem I see is that it seems to be nearly impossible for them to make a 180° turn. Guillemot always sounds like he wants to die on the current hill....no matter what. They made a few concessions...like releasing day1 on steam and stopping this season pass stuff. But you still have to go through their middleman launcher, even if iam not interested in any of their "services" or pay2win offers.

Time will tell I guess.

 

[Kurotri]

They'll downsize and go private. I don't think Ubi will go the way of THQ. Shadows will do well but not Valhalla well. Even if it did, there's no way a single game can offset the losses of Skull & Bones, Avatar Frontiers of Pandora, Star Wars Outlaws and XDefiant combined.

 

[Kenpachii]

They will survive but downsizes. I think shadows will sell decent if not good. But the other IP's will force them to downsize because of the expenses.

 

[Roman Empire]

It all depends on what the Guillemot family wants tbh. The negotiations with Tencent have come to a full stop because rumors point towards it flopping, or if not it won't be enough to save the company of total insolvency.

It is said that Tencent only have interest in a few IPs of the company like Assassin's Creed and whatnot, but Ubisoft wants a total buy out. So Tencent is waiting for their inevitable doom to have a more favorable outcome to them, be it to acquiring some of Ubi's IPs or everything at a better price when they inevitably fill up for bankruptcy.

I doubt Guillemot will want to downsize the company. Knowing the worm they are, the family will want to cash out from the selling or they will ask for a Executive position in Tencent ranks if a full buy out happens. They don't give a shit about the company, they are just interested in the money. May what come, the roaches of the Guillemot will survive and Ubi employees are fucked one way or the other.

 

[Papa_Wisdom]

This made me realise I haven’t bought a Ubisoft game since far cry blood dragon on the 360 nothing they produce appeals to me in the slightest

I was actually really looking forwards to Star Wars outlaws but obviously it turned out to be trash by all accounts.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

one game can't save an entire sinking ship

Its demise is necessary, and this year would be the perfect timing for it

 

[Skifi28]

one game can't save an entire sinking ship

Its demise is necessary, and this year would be the perfect timing for it

It can't save it, but it can delay it to 2026.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

It can't save it, but it can delay it to 2026.

what other big game Ubisoft has for this year?

 

[Skifi28]

what other big game Ubisoft has for this year?

No idea. I imagine they do have something since Shadows was scheduled for last year.

 

[Audiophile]

Assassin's Creed
Tom Clancy
Prince Of Persia
Rayman
Far Cry
Watch_Dogs
Anno
Settlers
Trackmania
Trials

Just Dance
Avatar
South Park
Star Wars

Plus a slate of old IPs ripe for remasters, remakes and reboots.

How on earth do you fumble the bag so badly on this lot?

A market cap of $1.5B with this these IPs and licenses is embarrassing. They peaked at $12.5B twice and should easily be worth 15-20. What a shambles.

 

[Elios83]

They will be bought.
I mean they pretty much stated the current plan is to sell. They're just hoping that AC Shadows is good enough and sells well enough to not tank the stock value and so the potential resell value furtherly.
Hence why they're delaying the game.
The Guillemot will have to give up if they want to save the company.

 

[BlitzerRadic]

There was a prediction thread before PS4 and XB1 launched and the majority that replied there thought PS4 would end up in last place and Sony's would exit the console market. Look how that one turned out.

GAF is really bad at predictions lmao

 

[Laptop1991]

Option 2 i think, and i also don't think Shadows will be a big seller.

 

[pudel]

what other big game Ubisoft has for this year?

ANALYSIS: Ubisoft Faces Its Most Challenging Year in its History

Ubisoft has had a rough few years, but 2025 is likely to be the most challenging year in the company's history.

insider-gaming.com

Ubisoft currently has some big hitters in development and set to release by the end of 2026, including Splinter Cell Remake, Far Cry 7, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Remake, Assassin’s Creed Hexe, Ghost Recon Over, the Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Remake, and a few other smaller projects under big IP names. The Division 3, the Rayman Remake, another Assassin’s Creed Remake codenamed Stardust, another flagship Assassin’s Creed RPG, and Beyond Good and Evil 2 (which is now progressing well) are further out.

 

[ReBurn]

They own such good IP's. It's a shame to watch them implode like this. I mean, they did it to themselves. But it's still a shame.

 

[wipeout364]

They will probably not be bought out. They are a bit of a poison pill being located in France, a large seemingly unproductive workforce protected by labor laws in France, a CEO who would never voluntarily relinquish control. Franchises that literally have been flogged to death.

For example, Ubisoft could have put all that money they spent on Xdefiant into rebuilding siege or tied Xdefiant into siege. They could have tied siege extraction into siege.

They could have used their greedy siege subscription service to offer access to siege and Xdefiant battle passes and give monthly siege coins out. But they never seem to think about the player only what they can extract. They can’t even fix the cheating in siege.

They make bad decisions and are greedy which is sad because they have made some great games in days past.

 

[Elios83]

Assassin's Creed
Tom Clancy
Prince Of Persia
Rayman
Far Cry
Watch_Dogs
Anno
Settlers
Trackmania
Trials

Just Dance
Avatar
South Park
Star Wars

Plus a slate of old IPs ripe for remasters, remakes and reboots.

How on earth do you fumble the bag so badly on this lot?

A market cap of $1.5B with this these IPs and licenses is embarrassing. They peaked at $12.5B twice and should easily be worth 15-20. What a shambles.

Guillemot mismanagement.
They wanted to chase the dream of easy and ever growing profits by going GaaS at all costs but failed to have a backup plan and a safety net except for the AC series.
They killed investements in IP innovation, too expensive and risky, it was easier to make cookie cutter games reskinning the same formula for years, they let all their IPs that couldn't be turned easily into GaaS and that didn't have the likelihood of making huge profits just die.
They were also unlucky that effectively none of their new ideas resonated with the market (they desperately wanted Watch Dogs to be a new AC for them but it just didn't happen).

 

[PeteBull]

Hard to predict now coz it all depends on the sales of AC:S, if they are solid or amazing, ubi will be saved at least for 1-2 more years, if it bombs tho... yeh.
We will know week or two after AC:S launch once we get legit info about sales/steam ccu.
BTW, since game got delayed twice already vs og date, it has to sell even better in order to be succesfull, those additional months of dev time are tens of milions of usd added to game's budget ^^

 

[Kumomeme]

if i remember correctly 2012-2016 is a period that Ubisoft are very well regarded in industry. people drool at almost anything they reveal that time. well...before the launch downgrade fiasco happened.

fast foward and here we are.

what funny is that their fate right now is depend on their number 1 franchise with the possibly most highest fan's demanded setting ever. before anyone would confidently agree that Assasins Creed with Japan setting might be their hottest cake on market but who imagine it would end up this way? i guess the problem is that Ubisoft take advantages over the fact for granted while underestimated the consumers ALOT. they probably believe whatever shit they throw it would still sell well since....it is AC on Japan setting LOL . then here we are today, where the company went from fine and well to almost get sold in blink of an eye. the game didnt release yet but already delayed few times and there is no bright future seen. honestly i doubt it doing well. they perhaps think by delaying it would cooldown the heat but it is to late. even if it somehow end up not a flop, i doubt it would sold well reflecting their investment either. what funny is the only thing that might make consumer happy right now is by just cancel the game LMAO.

 

[Pejo]

There's only one way Ubi saves itself, and that's by making a new game in the only series they own that still has a bit of soul to it.

Spoiler

Just look at how good this is. Just gameplay and amazing level design.

Spoiler

This almost feels like a alternate reality compared to where Ubi currently is.

 

[Madserb2023]

Not if Shadows doesn't do well.

 

[Jaybe]

They will do whatever the France version of chapter 11 is, fire almost everyone, and transform into a game streaming rights company built of of their ABK deal

 

[Trilobit]

I don't think Shadows will flop unless it's a really, really bad game. But it will probably affect future AC games.

 

[Kacho]

I think they’re toast. Shadows won’t be the hit they need it to be.

 

[Mister Wolf]

I think so. The family might lose control over it, but it will still exist.

 

[mdkirby]

Shadows doesn’t even need to flop for them to be fucked. It’s their longest ever development time for an assassins creed game, it’ll need to be a really big hit to be profitable, and I don’t see that happening. Their finances seem to be a fucking disaster. They also aren’t an attractive investment, hugely bloated staffing numbers, most their IP are neglected/degraded, lot of debt, lot of poor consumer sentiment from multiple fronts.

My guess is tencent let them die, and then use their current holdings as leverage to get first dibs on buying off pieces they think have value.

 

[LavitzSlambert]

They will probably sell or downsize significant areas of the business, but not get bought out completely this year. The only player I can think of that would actually try is Microsoft, and I doubt they’ll have a go ahead to do so this year. Not by Nadella and the board, and certainly not the FTC. For everyone else, I doubt they would have the capital to do so in this high interest rate environment.

 

[Magister]

There's only one way Ubi saves itself, and that's by making a new game in the only series they own that still has a bit of soul to it.

Spoiler

Just look at how good this is. Just gameplay and amazing level design.

Spoiler

This almost feels like a alternate reality compared to where Ubi currently is.

I agree. I dislike soulless Ubisoft. I grew up playing Rayman 2 on PS1. Yesterday, I bought Rayman Legends for dirt cheap and it is way more fun that those tired Ubisoft AAA franchises.

The funny thing is that some of their other smaller games are actually good: Prince of Persia Lost Crown, Immortals Fenyx Rising, Child of Light. They had some potential, but they wasted it by abandoning their more creative projects and chasing GAAS money instead + their shitty formula for games.

 

[Kurotri]

They will probably sell or downsize significant areas of the business, but not get bought out completely this year. The only player I can think of that would actually try is Microsoft, and I doubt they’ll have a go ahead to do so this year. Not by Nadella and the board, and certainly not the FTC. For everyone else, I doubt they would have the capital to do so in this high interest rate environment.

Aren't they banned from buying other companies up for 10 years or something? Remember reading that somewhere.

 

[Hookshot]

Aren't they banned from buying other companies up for 10 years or something? Remember reading that somewhere.

MS can't buy them, Ubisoft is the middleman for Activision's cloud gaming to allow the purchase

Ubisoft and Activision Blizzard’s deal for cloud gaming rights, explained

Ubisoft has control of cloud gaming rights for Activision games outside of the EU.

www.theverge.com

I guess Ubisoft were seen as healthy company then so it wasn't seen as a target by MS.

 

[JayK47]

Ubisoft has not released a game I care about in a very long time. If they go away, they will not be missed by me. I would hope the IPs would get handed off to more capable developers, but probably not.

 

[Wolves hunt in packs]

I really hope so, i like their games.

Hopefully they will also learn a few things from the desires of players and jump back on course.

 

[Saber]

Might be faster than I predicted. Got feeling that Asscreed will be released, sell kinda well but not the amount they expected. And since they are on the losing streak, things will move faster than expected. I could even guess less than a year, perhaps they are just waiting to release Asscred.

 

[ChuckeRearmed]

As an independent company? 50/50. There is a chance that they will restructure. But they are just too big for their output.

 

[RoboFu]

Ubisoft has always been on the brink of closure.

 

[NuclearDiarrhea]

Ubisoft will probably last the year but i sure as shit hope Yves Guillemot doesn't. Slimy, out of touch, old man with no solutions other than throwing the same shit at the wall hoping it sticks. Time to go.

 

[ElFenomeno]

Shadows will sell like hotcakes. That being said, I believe they will be acquired this year.

 

[HYDE]

I personally want them to release the Prince of Persia IP to a competent developer. That IP has so much potential to be such an amazing series imo.

 

[Hookshot]

Looking at Steam, R6 Siege still looks healthy

For Honor needs a sequel or something to boost player count.

 

[Hemingwayoffbase]

I think they delayed AC Shadows again because they’re in the process of negotiating a buy out and are worried that Shadows will hurt their market value if it tanks.

In essence, I think it will be sold before Shadows releases in March.

 

[MayauMiao]

I hope it will be the last of Ubiwoke. The brand needs to die, and start fresh as a true Ubisoft brand like its heydays.

 

[samoilaaa]

its sad to see a company this big and with so much potential fail

ubisoft has so many great IPs and could hold up today , there was a time when i couldnt wait for an typical ubisoft fall release

assassins creed , prince of persia , ghost recon , splinter cell and many more , such a waste

imagine a non woke splinter cell AAA game with immersive sim elements , complete freedom , mature complex story , great enemy AI , non linear level design , no point in dreaming time to wake up

 

[BlackTron]

How is Ubisoft going to get away with firing that many diversity hires without folding under the weight of paperwork alone?

 

[simpatico]

I think they're already preparing for bankruptcy and the AC Shadows delay has something to do with it

 

[laynelane]

It's hard to say exactly what will happen. The company would likely have already been sold if not for the Guillemot family wanting to retain control. Shadows will under perform and won't save them either. They're also not making any major moves to make the company more sustainable, like significantly downsizing their massive work force - bankruptcy doesn't seem too far-fetched at this point.