Ubisoft shares jumped by 11% Friday morning after the company announced it would turn its top-performing games into a new business. The news was announced Thursday in a press release that laid out the full structure of the deal.
The stock later trimmed some gains but still held at a 9% increase by the close of the day. The move follows growing pressure from investors who wanted answers about where the company was headed after years of botched launches, revenue drops, and internal chaos.
The company confirmed it will spin off its biggest franchises—Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six—into a new gaming unit. This new division is getting 1.16 billion euros (roughly $1.25 billion) from Tencent, the massive tech firm out of China.
The investment gives the unit a valuation of 4 billion euros, which is more than double Ubisoft’s total market cap right now. This is the biggest financial injection the company has taken in a long time, and it only applies to the top IPs that still move units.
Tencent buys into Ubisoft’s future while top IPs get boxed into a new unit
The deal structure was designed to let Ubisoft keep control on paper while bringing in outside money. The new spin-off will focus on building “evergreen and multi-platform ecosystems,” the company said Thursday. That means they want these games to live longer and run across more platforms—consoles, PC, mobile—without having to reinvent the wheel every release cycle. With Tencent’s track record in mobile and PC gaming, the cash isn’t just for stability—it’s for reach.
The company’s challenges didn’t start yesterday. In February, Ubisoft reported a 52% drop in third-quarter net bookings, blaming poor performance from its key games. Its most recent major launch, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, only landed last week after getting delayed multiple times. That game pulled a Metacritic average of 82, which isn’t a disaster but also not a knockout. It followed the flop of Star Wars Outlaws, which didn’t meet internal expectations or generate much fan hype. The pattern was becoming obvious—delays, underperformance, silence.
Research director Piers Harding-Rolls from Ampere Analysis told CNBC via email, “The structure of the deal, with the creation of a spin-off just housing the top franchises, is innovative and aims to highlight the value of Ubisoft’s top franchises, while also not ceding overall control to Tencent on paper.” Piers also made it clear this might not stay that way for long. “To get the most from these franchises, I expect Tencent to have a stronger influence in cross-platform expansion, especially in areas where it has deep expertise, such as mobile and PC gaming and to hold more influence generally,” he added.
That new influence will probably show up fast. With Tencent’s track record in mobile monetization, analysts expect these franchises to end up on more platforms—and packed with live services and in-game purchases. That means the business model around Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry might change, even if Ubisoft keeps creative control on the surface.
The deal isn’t about creativity. It’s about cash. And it was bound to happen. Fans have been frustrated with Ubisoft for a while. The launch delays. The buggy releases. The underwhelming projects that follow massive hype. There’s been a buildup of doubt around the company’s leadership and its ability to actually ship something that works.
Video game journalist Shannon Liao spoke to BBC about this situation. “Ubisoft has all these great games, like Assassin’s Creed, that it’s known for that recently haven’t delivered so much for fans,” Shannon said. “There are reasons for why that business is now up for grabs, and for Tencent, it’s an opportunity for them to cash in on these franchises that are so beloved, that have so much street cred for gamers out there.”
Investors weren’t just guessing. They were waiting. And this spin-off gives them the clearest look at how Ubisoft plans to make money from what still works. Everything outside this new division remains under the original company, which hasn’t confirmed if more IPs will move or if this unit will be the only one with external investment.
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