Between cancelling three unannounced titles, cost reduction to the tune of $200 million, and record low share prices, Ubisoft is facing hard times. One would think that the company would be ripe for acquisition or mergers, as seen with Activision-Blizzard when it faced backlash and lawsuits for its harassment allegations.
However, according to Giant Bomb’s Jeff Grubb, the publisher reportedly already “did the rounds” for acquisitions and mergers. The results were less than endearing.
“Ubisoft definitely already did the rounds proposing acquisitions and mergers with other similar companies, and it mostly got laughed at. It’s just too unwieldy. Its strength was its distributed development structure, and now that is an albatross,” he said on Twitter.
Grubb believes it may “hold onto more people than if it tried to ‘slim down’ for an M&A.” Regardless, the situation looks “grim,” reinforcing the fact that making video games is tough. Especially without abusing, bullying, sexually harassing and mismanaging your employees like several Ubisoft higher-ups were accused of doing.
As for whether Ubisoft could downscale heavily and focus on a few of its core franchises, Grubb said, “I think everything is on the table.” This isn’t confirmation of the same, but given how Activision went the same route with almost all its studios devoted to Call of Duty, it wouldn’t be surprising.
In addition to free-to-play titles, Ubisoft will launch a “large” unannounced premium title in 2023-24, along with Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, and the recently delayed Skull and Bones. Stay tuned for more details in the meantime.