Ubisoft, a French game manufacturer that has developed many popular classic games such as "Assassin's Creed" and "Star Wars" and continues to invest in blockchain games and NFT issuance, has not been as good as expected since 2023 due to the sales performance of many games. Shares hit a 10-year low last month, and more than half of its market value has been wiped out this year.
China's Tencent and founding family consider acquiring Ubisoft
According to a Bloomberg report yesterday (4th), people familiar with the matter broke the news that Ubisoft’s two major shareholders: Chinese gaming giant Tencent and Ubisoft founder Guillemot’s family office, Guillemot Brothers Ltd., may consider acquiring Ubisoft. It is rumored that the two companies We have been talking to consultants to explore ways to stabilize Ubisoft and increase its value, and one of the possibilities being discussed is "joining forces to take Ubisoft private", while also considering other options.
People familiar with the matter added that the consideration of the acquisition is still at an early stage and it has not yet been determined whether a transaction will be achieved. According to Ubisoft's latest annual report, as of the end of April, Tencent owned 9.2% of Ubisoft, while the Guillemot family held approximately 20.5%. The year before last, Tencent acquired approximately 49.9% of the shares from the Guillemot family company for 300 million euros. Spokespersons for Ubisoft and Tencent have not responded to this report.
Last week, AJ Investments, an investment institution that holds less than 1% of Ubisoft's shares, also said that it is working with other Ubisoft shareholders to promote the company's sale to private equity companies or Chinese gaming giant Tencent, and has currently obtained 10% of the shares. support.
Ubisoft shares soar 33%
After the report was released, Ubisoft's share price soared more than 33% in Paris on Friday, closing at 14.2 euros, the largest increase since the company's initial public offering in 1996. However, Ubisoft's stock price has lost nearly 40% this year, and the company's market value is approximately 1.8 billion euros (NT$63.8 billion).
Ubisoft is in a trough, and sales of two classic IPs have suffered miserably due to the DEI controversy.
As the global gaming industry generally falls into a downturn this year, Ubisoft's dismal performance has worried shareholders and the gaming industry.
Last week, Ubisoft announced that the official release date of "Assassin's Creed: Shadowbringers" would be postponed by three months from the original November date to February 14, 2025. There are reports that the pre-order volume of this game is only 7.5% of the previous game "Assassin's Creed: Viking Age".
Since "Assassin's Creed: Shadowbringers" was first announced in May this year, it has caused widespread controversy due to its use of the black samurai Yasuke as the protagonist and its soundtrack using hip-hop rap, which is not consistent with historical facts and has caused DEI and political correctness chaos in the global community.
Another annual masterpiece, "Star Wars: Desperados," featured the first open-world battle in Star Wars. It took several years to develop but the final evaluation was far lower than expected. In addition, many players did not like the appearance of the heroine and thought it was too middle-class. Sexual, criticized by the DEI policy, more than a month after its release, global sales were only 1 million copies, far lower than the sales performance of the previous generation "Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order" which sold more than 10 million copies.
Ubisoft will release new game NFT
Although Ubisoft's game performance and stock price have been disastrous, the company still insists on continuing its layout in Web3 games and NFT. According to Decrypt, Ubisoft will launch the NFT series "Niji Warrior ID" related to the upcoming Web3 shooting game "Captain Laserhawk: The GAME" on Ethereum L2 Arbitrum through the Magic Eden market in the next few weeks, with a total of 10,000 pieces. NFT allows holders to play the game in advance, participate in the game's governance model and receive rewards.
The game is inspired by the Netflix series "Captain Laser Hawk: Blood Dragon Remix". This multiplayer shooting game is expected to include classic characters from Assassin's Creed, Laser Man, and Ghost Adventures.
Didier Genevois, executive producer of Ubisoft Web3, said in a press release: "By integrating Web3, we are empowering our community to not only play games, but also shape the future of games. This is to create a collaborative ecosystem where player decisions are and creations directly influence the development of the game, making the experience truly their own.”
