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Confirming earlier insider reports about Ubisofts plans to navigate its financial troubles by using its most valuable game series to form an entirely new business entity, the struggling studio has now officially announced the creation of a dedicated subsidiary centered on the Assassins Creed, Far Cry, and Tom Clancys Rainbow Six franchises, with Chinese tech giant Tencent acting as its minority shareholder with a 25% stake.UbisoftIn the first page of its official statement shared with the public, Ubisoft describes the formation of the new entity as a rapid evolution of its operational model, stating that the new subsidiary will focus on building game ecosystems designed to become truly evergreen and multi-platform.With a valuation of 4 billion implying an average sales multiple of around 4x for FY23-FY25E the company will receive a 1.16 billion ($1.25 billion) cash injection from Tencent, which will hold a 25% minority stake in the new entity. Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot stated that the subsidiarys creation, with Tencent as a minority shareholder, is intended to spearhead development for three of the companys most valuable IPs and crystallize the value of our assets, ultimately providing, according to Guillemot, the best conditions for the game series long-term growth.The second page, on the other hand, is noticeably lighter on corporate jargon aimed at reassuring investors, instead offering straightforward details about the deal without the embellishments written, presumably, by the PR department.According to this section, the new subsidiary will encompass teams working on the Tom Clancys Rainbow Six, Assassins Creed, and Far Cry franchises, with studios located in Montral, Quebec, Sherbrooke, Saguenay, Barcelona, and Sofia. It will also include the back catalog, along with any ongoing or future game developments within these franchises.Notably, the new entity will not outright own the aforementioned brand trio, and instead, Ubisoft will provide it with a worldwide, exclusive, irrevocable, perpetual license in respect of the intellectual property and similar proprietary rights owned or licensable by Ubisoft concerning the IPs in question in exchange for a royalty.Regarding Tencents role in the new venture, the companys investment would grant it minority protection veto rights, along with certain consent rights regarding the disposal of key assets of the new subsidiary. Additionally, a 5-year lock-up would apply to the shares of the new subsidiary held by Tencent, with Ubisoft retaining exclusive control and consolidation of the new subsidiary, at least for the time being.Apparently, that could potentially change in the future, as the statement explicitly reveals that after a 2-year period, Ubisoft may no longer hold a majority of the new subsidiarys voting rights and share capital, ultimately implying that, going forward, the studio might lose all influence over the direction of three of its most important game series. This one clause outlined in the announcement makes the entire deal appear to be nothing more than a Hail Mary, designed exclusively to secure short-term investment at the expense of the franchises, rather than ensuring the game series long-term growth, as stated by Guillemot.The internal email shared by Chief Studios and Portfolio Officer Marie-Sophie de Waubert with Ubisoft employees, obtained by Insider Gaming, also fails to inspire much confidence, hinting at an upcoming reorganization within the studio in the weeks and months ahead, which could lead to massive layoffs and project cancellations, similar to Embracer Groups decision to eliminate 1,400 employees and shut down 42 games as part of its restructuring.Interestingly, the news that one could summarize as in two years, Ubisoft may lose all say in how Tom Clancys Rainbow Six, Assassins Creed, and Far Cry are handled comes on the heels of Assassins Creed Shadows supposed success, with over 3 million players having allegedly already tried the game and Shadows generating the second-highest Day 1 sales revenue in the franchises history.While a sizeable portion of the gaming community has repeatedly asked Ubisoft to disclose the metric that actually matters sales numbers rather than the vague players reached, at least we now have one potential reason why the troubled studio has been so evasive in its announcements and ignored this request to secure a valuation of 4 billion and not less. Could that be the actual reason? Only Ubisoft knows, and Ubisoft, as usual, isnt telling.Dont forget to join our80 Level Talent platformand ournew Discord server, follow us onInstagram,Twitter,LinkedIn,Telegram,TikTok, andThreads,where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.Source link The post Tencent Now Owns 25% of the Assassins Creed & Far Cry Franchises appeared first on CG SHARES.