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.”

In the interview, Guillemot spoke about his experience working at Ubisoft as well as other companies where he has led teams and managed brands successfully. “Yes, I’m Yves’ son,” he explained. “That’s not something I hide from. But my appointment isn’t only about family ties; it’s about what Ubisoft needs at this moment.”

“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. I also made the conscious choice to step away when it made sense, to learn and grow elsewhere.”

Guillemot went on to speak about some of the plans for the future of Ubisoft as a whole. With the subsidiary being focused on single-player story-based games as well as live-service multiplayer titles and even mobile games, Guillemot noted that he has his work cut out for him when it comes to growing the new company.

“What matters now isn’t my name, it’s the work ahead,” Guillemot added. “Ubisoft is at a pivotal moment. What’s expected of me is to help push the company forward by bringing energy, focus, and by relying on the incredible expertise that already exists across the teams. I see myself as someone here to contribute, support, and help create the right conditions are in place for everyone to do their best work.”

“And beyond that, this industry is where I want to be. There’s nowhere quite like it, where creativity, talent, and technology intersect in such dynamic ways, and where you constantly have to adapt to new platforms, new ideas, new expectations from players. That’s what draws me in.”

The subsidiary was founded as part of a €1.16 billion between Ubisoft and Tencent, and was officially announced all the way back in March. The fact that it would be focusing on single-player and live-service multiplayer games was revealed in its earnings report from May. As part of the deal between Ubisoft and Tencent, the former will maintain ownership of its major IP, including Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six, while Tencent will own a 25 percent minority interest in the subsidiary.

“With this transaction, Tencent will invest €1.16bn in a primary issuance by the New Subsidiary, acquiring an approximate 25% economic interest,” explained the company during its earnings report in May. “At closing, at least €500m will be upstreamed to Ubisoft, ensuring sufficient working capital needs of the New Subsidiary at start.”

As for the subsidiary itself, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot had said that it was created to allow the whole company to remain agile while also having high ambitions. He also spoke about wanting to grow its bigger brands while also creating new IPs.

As part of this initiative, the subsidiary will focus on improving the quality of single-player, narrative driven experiences, expanding on live-service offerings from Ubisoft focusing on frequent content updates and multiplayer, and break into the mobile market, as well as international markets like China.

In the earnings report, Ubisoft also stated that its initiative to reshape the organisation and create the subsidiary alongside Tencent came about as a way to continue on its focus of creating and supporting open-world games as well as live-service titles. The subsidiary was created after a “thorough review of its pipeline” from October to December. This structural reshaping has, according to the report, had a hand in the high quality of Assassin’s Creed Shadows. More details about how this will affect Ubisoft going forward will be revealed later in the year.

“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.”

As for Ubisoft’s deal with Tencent, the earnings report reiterates the fact that the nature of the deal means that Ubisoft still maintains ownership of its major IPs: Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry and Rainbow Six. As part of the deal, Tencent’s stake in the new subsidiary is valued at an investment of €1.16 billion, which gets it a 25 percent minority interest.

“With this transaction, Tencent will invest €1.16bn in a primary issuance by the New Subsidiary, acquiring an approximate 25% economic interest,” explained the company. “At closing, at least €500m will be upstreamed to Ubisoft, ensuring sufficient working capital needs of the New Subsidiary at start.”

Ubisoft had announced its new subsidiary alongside Tencent back in March. During the announcement, the company emphasised that it would maintain an exclusive, irrevocable and perpetual license over the aforementioned IPs, while Ubisoft as the parent company will continue to get royalties.

“Today Ubisoft is opening a new chapter in its history,” said Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot when the subsidiary was first announced. “As we accelerate the company’s transformation, this is a foundational step in changing Ubisoft’s operating model that will enable us to be both agile and ambitious. We are focused on building strong game ecosystems designed to become evergreen, growing high-performing brands and creating new IPs powered by cutting-edge and emerging technologies.

The company’s most recent release was Assassin’s Creed Shadows, which it has described as having “clearly” surpassed its predecessors, Odyssey and Valhalla, in terms of player numbers. The game is available on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Check out our review for more details.

According to the report, the camera angle for the new title has been described as being from a top-down view, with similarities being drawn with titles like XCOM and Diablo 4. On the gameplay front, a source has mentioned that it will be quite similar to XCOM, saying that one could “just watch some XCOM gameplay if you want to get an idea, I’d say it’s an updated version of that with cinematic cutscenes and so on.”

Players will take control of a squad of operators, each with their own special abilities, to take on different mission objectives. The general gameplay loop is said to have the player pick operators for each mission, depending on the kinds of objectives that need to be accomplished. Ubisoft is seemingly aiming for a campaign that will take players between 25 and 30 hours to finish.

The title is likely being developed under the new France-based subsidiary of Ubisoft that was announced back in March. A 25 percent minority stake of the subsidiary is owned by Tencent, who paid €1.16 billion as an investment into the new company. The subsidiary will oversee Ubisoft’s biggest franchises, including Rainbow Six.

As for Rainbow Six Siege, the major free update will be bringing with it a host of gameplay changes to the competitive title. Along with general improvements to the gameplay and engine, players will also be getting access to new abilities, including the option to use rappel lines to run along walls horizontally, as well as new environmental interaction options.

A major part of the Rainbow Six Siege X update will also revolve around creating more roadblocks for hackers and cheaters. To that end, more robust anti-tamper actions are being taken, including the new R6 ShieldGuard, which further encrypts the game’s executable files for each player. Check out our coverage of the announcement for more details.

Rainbow Six Siege X will also be getting the Dual Front 6-on-6 game mode, which combines attackers and defenders on both sides to create a larger-scale battleground where both teams have to take on objectives on their opponent’s side, will simultaneously also defending their own side.

The playable set of Operators in Dual Front will be an evolving list; while the frequency of the line-up changing hasn’t yet been revealed, Ubisoft has stated that it aims to keep gameplay in the new mode fresh by giving players fresh match-ups. For more details on the game mode, check out coverage.

Rainbow Six Siege X will be a free update available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. The update will also be turning the game free-to-play, which means that new players can join the game without having to buy a copy once the update lands.

Ubisoft is establishing a new subsidiary headquartered in France that will receive a €1.16 billion investment from Tencent in exchange of a 25 percent minority stake. The new subsidiary, which hasn’t yet been given a name, will oversee, manage, and drive Ubisoft’s three biggest properties- Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six.

The subsidiary will have a “a worldwide, exclusive, irrevocable, perpetual” license over those three properties, including all games that have released and all that will in the future, with parent company Ubisoft continuing to receive royalties. Under a dedicated leadership team and board of directors, the subsidiary will, according to Ubisoft, “make swift, high-impact decisions across development, marketing, and distribution, to ensure these brands continue to evolve, attract new audiences, and deliver groundbreaking gaming experiences for years to come.”

The company says its new subsidiary will “focus on building game ecosystems designed to become truly evergreen and multi-platform”, and thanks to “greater investment and boosted creative capacities”, will be enabled to “drive further increases in quality of narrative solo experiences, expand multiplayer offerings with increased frequency of content release, [and] introduce free-to-play touchpoints.”

“Today Ubisoft is opening a new chapter in its history,” says Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot. “As we accelerate the company’s transformation, this is a foundational step in changing Ubisoft’s operating model that will enable us to be both agile and ambitious. We are focused on building strong game ecosystems designed to become evergreen, growing high-performing brands and creating new IPs powered by cutting-edge and emerging technologies.

“With the creation of a dedicated subsidiary that will spearhead development for three of our largest franchises and the onboarding of Tencent as a minority investor, we are crystalizing the value of our assets, strengthening our balance sheet, and creating the best conditions for these franchises’ long-term growth and success. With its dedicated and autonomous leadership team, it will focus on transforming these three brands into unique ecosystems.

“We are committed to building a sharper, more focused organization-one where talented teams will take our brands to the next level, accelerate the growth of emerging franchises, and lead innovation in next-generation technologies and services, all with the goal of delivering enriching, memorable games that exceed players’ expectations, and create superior value for our shareholders and other stakeholders.”

“We are excited to extend our longstanding partnership with Ubisoft through this investment, which reflects our continued confidence in Ubisoft’s creative vision and exceptional talent to drive sustained success in the industry,” says Tencent president Martin Lau. “We see the immense potential for these franchises to evolve into long-term evergreen game platforms and create engaging new experiences for gamers.”

Ubisoft itself will continue to oversee and manage other properties that it owns, including Ghost Recon, The Division, Rayman, and others. The company will also continue working on new IP and “delivering state-of-the-art production game engines and online services.”

Ubisoft says this deal will be finalized by the end of 2025, and that it will reveal further details on the new subsidiary and how it (and Ubisoft itself) will operate going forward at a later date, so stay tuned.

Net bookings for Assassin’s Creed “nearly doubled” over 2019-20 (though that period was bereft of any new releases). Assassin’s Creed Valhalla continues to perform well with more unique players in 2021-22 than 2020-21, no doubt thanks to its extensive post-launch support and the recent Dawn of Ragnarok expansion. Far Cry as a brand had its “best year ever” with the last major release being Far Cry 6 in October 2021.

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six series saw a growth in net bookings thanks to the release of Rainbow Six Extraction. Despite the latter receiving underwhelming reviews, it still garnered more than five million players in its first month. A reveal for Nightmare Fog, presumably its next limited-time event, is coming later today. As for Rainbow Six Siege, it crossed 80 million players as of February 2022 and saw the start of Season 7 in March.

We might not be getting a direct sequel to Rainbow Six Siege any time soon, but that doesn’t mean Ubisoft isn’t going to do anything new with the Rainbow Six franchise whatsoever. As per a new report emerging from information provided by Kotaku’s Jason Schreier, a new (and very different) Rainbow Six title is going to be announced very soon.

Over on the Kotaku Splitscreen podcast, Schreier stated that Ubisoft plan on releasing a new space-themed co-op Rainbow Six title, called Rainbow Six Siege, by the end of this fiscal year (so before April 2020)- which would fall in line with their plans on having three AAA releases within that period. If the game is to release that soon, we can probably also expect an announcement at E3.

Rainbow Six Quarantine, it would seem, is the Rainbow Six title that reports from earlier in the year were speaking of. It allegedly began life as Pioneer, which was going to be a non-violent space exploration title, to be directed by Far Cry 4 director Alex Hutchinson. The game was eventually scrapped an retooled and turned into a space-themed co-op shooter with aliens.

Schreier also reiterated and clarified later on over at ResetEra that Pioneer is not a new IP anymore, and is almost certainly a new co-op PvE Rainbow Six title.

This isn’t the only Ubisoft game that’s been leaked ahead of E3. Watch Dogs Legion was leaked as well, though Ubisoft confirmed it themselves shortly afterward, while reportedly, they’re also gearing up to reveal a new RPG IP very soon. Read more on that through here.

We reported a few weeks ago that, based on some tweets by former and current Ubisoft employees, it seemed like Pioneer, their science fiction project, was dead. Pioneer was meant to be a science fiction game with an emphasis on non violent exploration, and it had first been teased in Watch Dogs 2 back in 2016. Apparently its demise had come after a rocky development.

However, now, based on a report by Kotaku, it seems that Pioneer may still be kicking around—albeit in a dramatically changed form. Kotaku reports that Pioneer has morphed into a co-op alien shooter, and that it may even tie into the Rainbow Six series somehow. Which seems extremely unlikely on a conceptual level, but at the same time, Ubisoft has reportedly been trying to have a less grounded Rainbow Six game for ages now. This would certainly be one way to achieve that.

Now, a few things—this is still a rumor, and even if it is true, there is no guarantee the game in question actually gets released. A whole lot of games get pretty far in development but then go nowhere (a recent example would be Metroid Prime 4, which is basically being re-developed from scratch after initial development for it seems to not have gone anywhere). So don’t necessarily hold your breath for Pioneer. Though if it is real, I will hope that it does get revealed in some form soon.

Do you want to try Ubisoft’s long anticipated and perennially delayed The Division for yourself ahead of its launch in a few months? You’re in luck, because the newest Humble Bundle has the beta code for The Division as part of the package.

It’s a Tom Clancy Humble Bundle, and you’re gonna get great stuff no matter what- pay whatever you want, as long as it’s at least $1, and you get the original Rainbow Six, Rainbow Six 3 Gold with Raven Shield and Athena Sword, Rainbow Six Vegas, Splinter Cell Chaos Theory, and Ghost Recon. Beating the average ($8.57 right now) also gets you Rainbow Six Vegas 2, a beta code for The Division, Splinter Cell Conviction Deluxe Edition and Splinter Cell.

Finally, paying $10 or more gets you, in addition to all that, Splinter Cell Blacklist and Ghost Recon: Future Soldier– and if you pay $75 or more for whatever reason, you net yourself a pre-order for The Division, an exclusive The Division t-shirt and a voucher for 66% off on any three Ubisoft titles in the Humble Store, plus, of course, everything listed above.

Me, I’d be fine with the $8.57 tier myself.

Go check the Humble Bundle out for yourself. The Division launches in April, on Xbox One, PS4, and PC.

Of the many publishers hopping aboard the backwards compatible bandwagon for Xbox 360 games on Xbox One, Ubisoft is perhaps one of the biggest. Along with offering free copies of Rainbow Six Vegas 1 and 2 to those who pre-order an Xbox One version of Rainbow Six: Siege, Ubisoft Mexico on Facebook recently asked fans what Xbox 360 titles they would like to be backwards compatible on Xbox One.

No explicit fan voting has been announced but an image with some of Ubisoft’s premier franchises was revealed. It included titles like Assassin’s Creed 2, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, Prince of Persia, Rayman Origins, Driver: San Francisco, Splinter Cell: Blacklist, Far Cry 3 and many more. Time will tell which games are actually backwards compatible but it’s good to see Ubisoft’s support for the same.

Xbox 360 backwards compatibility is expected to arrive on the Xbox One this November and will be free for all. What are your thoughts on Ubisoft jumping aboard? Let us know in the comments.