Following up on the creation of its new subsidiary, Ubisoft has now announced the name of the new studio under its banner: Vantage Studios. the entity has been described by Ubisoft as a “creative house”, and will take on the responsibility of working on the company’s biggest franchises – Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry and Rainbow Six.
Among the responsibilities of Vantage Studios will be to “take on development and expansion of these brands, building on the foundation of Ubisoft’s experience and expertise, sharing services and technical resources, all while giving developers more hands-on control over the games they are building.”
Vantage Studios will be headed up by Charlie Guillemot – the son of Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot – and Christophe Derennes in the roles of co-CEOs. Its employees will be comprised of a number of developers from across Ubisoft’s various development studios in Montréal, Quebec, Sherbrooke, Saguenay, Barcelona, and Sofia.
“Vantage Studios represents a first step in Ubisoft’s ongoing transformation, with plans to set up additional creative houses and group its brands and franchises under the banner of a shared DNA and development expertise,” wrote the company in its announcement. “The goal of Vantage Studios, and future creative houses, is to facilitate stronger and deeper connections between developers and players.”
Vantage Studios was first announced earlier this year, with reports indicating that it would be a joint venture between Ubisoft and Tencent. A report from back in May indicated that the studio’s primary purpose would be to develop single-player games and narrative-driven experiences, as well as expand on live-service offerings that Ubisoft already has by focusing on more frequent content updates.
“To support this vision, the Company is currently working on reshaping its operating model with the objective to better meet player needs, deliver superior game quality and drive disciplined capital allocation,” wrote the company. “Management targets to announce the new organization by the end of the year.”
Ubisoft had noted that the studio – at the time only referred to as an unnamed subsidiary – was being created with the vision of reshaping the overall operating model of the company in order to better hit its targets in terms of game quality and capital allocation. The subsidiary was founded with a €1.16 billion investment by Tencent, which also gave the company a 25 percent economic interest in it.
“With this transaction, Tencent will invest €1.16bn in a primary issuance by the New Subsidiary, acquiring an approximate 25% economic interest,” explained Ubisoft. “At closing, at least €500m will be upstreamed to Ubisoft, ensuring sufficient working capital needs of the New Subsidiary at start.”
As for Yves Guillemot’s son taking on the role of co-CEO at Vantage Studios, questions had already risen back in July when the was first announced for the position. In an interview, Charlie Guillemot spoke about how, while he is Yves’ son, his appointment to the role wasn’t a case of nepotism.
“I’ve spent the last decade building experience both inside and outside Ubisoft, leading teams, managing brands, and navigating change in a fast-moving industry,” he explained. “I also made the conscious choice to step away when it made sense, to learn and grow elsewhere.”
