"Tencent saving Ubisoft was not expected": Gaming community left divided following major announcement after Assassin’s Creed Shadows

In an odd turn of events, French publisher Ubisoft has partnered with Chinese gaming giant Tencent to create a new subsidiary. This comes in light of declining sales and profits for their gaming projects, as the former receives $1.6 billion USD from the latter to back this new endeavor, on top of Tencent gaining a 25% stake in this subsidiary.

This move has shocked fans on both sides of the fence, who are either applauding this move or are concerned for Ubisoft, as Tencent not only gets royalties for IPs published under this subsidiary but also obtains licensing rights.

That said, this news has surprised many netizens, with user @TheAsianWaldo on X saying:

"Tencent saving Ubisoft was not expected"

Many see this move as a good thing, as the French publisher will now be able to further experiment and grow its catalog of ideas and IPs with a fresh start.

User @vledermau5 hopes this means older IPs can see the light of day with fresh installments:

"I am glad they are still alive and kicking after the Shadows success. Now please give us something on Beyond Good & Evil 2, anything (but a cancellation). Also @Ubisoft please give us new Rayman games"

User @VOTU_D also has a positive take on the matter, suggesting Tencent's investment should give Ubisoft the support they and their IPs require:

"Ubisoft's new subsidiary with Tencent, valued at $4.3B, is a significant move, especially with major IPs like Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six involved. Tencent's 25% stake could really boost their growth potential."

Another user, @LFCDG91 is concerned about the studio getting even more hate from this endeavor following the recent launch of Assassin's Creed Shadows and the controversies surrounding it:

"Can already tell a certain group of people are gonna be insufferable about this. A poorly managed company that’s been bleeding money for years and people are gonna blame a game that came out 2 weeks ago, despite it being seemingly successful"

Others think this move will affect the studio and its workers negatively, with user @AI_EmeraldApple stating:

"RIP, all those 18000 employees at Ubisoft. This means a lot of them are getting fired and most are going to get let go. Completely expected outcome of course."

Some like @HubBandar seem a tad paranoid with Tencent arriving in the equation:

"Tencent held ~9.99% of Ubisoft shares, now 34%. Invested €300M in Guillemot Bros Ltd (GBL), owning 49.9% of it. GBL holds part of the Guillemot family's Ubisoft stake. This is a Full Tencent takeover of Ubisoft. The numbers for AC shadows are abysmal, with no sold copies announced, only players accessed (Ubisoft+ at $17)."

---

Ubisoft and Tencent team up to create new gaming subsidiary in a legendary collaboration

It remains to be seen what direction this historical move for the legendary game company entails. The publisher has seen a ton of controversy, especially surrounding their latest game, Assassin's Creed Shadows, as it got a lot of vitriol from online trolls for starring a black samurai and LGBTQ+ romances.

In light of workplace mismanagement accusations and rocky development schedules, perhaps this new partnership will help Ubisoft figure things out under a new guiding light.

---