- Ubisoft has been struggling in recent months
- There is also speculation about a possible buyout by China’s Tencent
- In its statement, the French firm did not rule out this possibility
The video game market has experienced many upheavals in recent years. Among the biggest is undoubtedly the purchase of a number of game studios by Microsoft, who wanted to clearly demonstrate that they are dead serious about their Xbox division. Even on the European continent, however, it is not completely quiet on the footpath. Recently, there has been speculation about possible problems with the French company Ubisoft, which is facing increasing criticism, especially from players. However, as it seems, the situation is not too rosy even within the company.
Will Ubisoft gobble up the Chinese gaming giant?
According to the latest speculations, the French family silver circle is surrounded by the Chinese Tencent, which is considered the largest video game company in the world and has, for example, Riot Games, Funcom or Techland under its wing. Apparently, he should be interested in increasing his current stake in Ubisoft – he currently holds 9.99 percent. What started as speculation, however, has a real basis, judging by Ubisoft’s official statement on the situation in a press statement.
“We regularly consider all strategic options that may be of interest to our shareholders and we also inform the market at the appropriate time,” stands in Ubisoft statement. It would be foolish to infer something from these sentences, but it seems that everything is probably not in perfect order inside the French company. The statement follows earlier reports by Bloomberg that Chinese gaming giant Tencent and the Guillemot family, which founded Ubisoft, are looking for ways to stabilize Ubisoft and consolidate its value. Ubisoft’s stock plunged 19% last month following reports that Assassin’s Creed Shadows had been delayed and that the anticipated Star Wars: Outlaws game was doing worse than expected in terms of sales.
Don’t overlook
Ubisoft has a coat of shame. While playing its titles, players started getting ads
Ubisoft has several options for solving the current situation. First of all, it can buy shares and become a limited company. Another option is, of course, to be absorbed by Tencent, or at least let it acquire a larger stake in the company. The last option that is offered is to find another buyer, which is, of course, the most problematic. We will probably find out in the coming months what path Ubisoft will take in the end.
Author of the article
Dominik Vlasak
Editor, traveler, fan of technology, Star Wars and good coffee.
