Ubisoft held its third-quarter earnings call yesterday, in which the company was asked about whether it would entertain the idea of an acquisition, with CEO Yves Guillemot sharing an interesting albeit fairly standard response.
Guillemot made sure to note that Ubisoft can remain independent, but would "of course" review any offer:
"Ubisoft can remain independent...our IPs are sought after by the biggest global players in entertainment and tech. Having said that, if there were an offer to buy us, the board of directors would of course review it in the interest of all stakeholders."
The CEO's comments aren't exactly untypical for questions of this nature, but as IGN pointed out in their report on this news, his mention that Ubisoft "can remain independent" definitely seems a little gentle and cautious at first glance.
It's impossible to know if anything's in the works here, but if a company were to acquire Ubisoft, we think Microsoft and Xbox would at least be one of the frontrunners. We'd really like to see that Ubisoft Plus subscription on Game Pass...
Do you think Xbox should go after Ubisoft if the opportunity is there? Let us know in the comments.
[source ign.com]
Comments 28
I don't think Microsoft will actually purchase Ubisoft BUT I could see Ubisoft Plus coming to Gamepass.
I'd say Ubisoft are not as well placed to remain as independent as they think. Yes AC: Valhalla has been a 'success' for them of late, but numerous other 'Projects' in recent years have 'disappointed' in terms of Sales - Watchdogs 3, Ghost Recon: Wildlands, Division 2, Far Cry 6 etc - also several Projects we know of that are in 'Development Limbo' like Skull N Bones, Beyond Good & Evil 2 etc and even their 'Free to Play' money grabs like Hyper Scape and XDefiant aren't successful...
Add in their plans to use 'NFT's' to 'remain' independent' by generating enough 'revenue' to offset numerous 'under-performing' projects continued dissatisfaction amongst its employees (pay, working conditions, lack of equal opportunities etc), they could end up like 'Activision/Blizzard', ploughing all their time into 'Assassins Creed' and R6: Seige as their most popular and most 'lucrative' franchises
I'd like MS to acquire Ubisoft - if only to improve the future for those studio's, those IP's etc. Its natural for a Publisher to want to keep the 'costs' low to increase the profit margin and reduce the number of games needed to sell to break even but with escalating costs, its 'quicker' to 'reskin' the old game, copy and paste a lot of the 'activities' etc to chuck out a 'quick' sequel to make money...
Whatever gets them to stop it with the nft's
I doubt MS would even be allowed to. I wouldn’t say they’d be close to a monopoly. But it seems the regulatory folks are looking closer at Activision than they did Bethesda (even if the purchase is still expected to go through). There’s gotta be a point where if they bought too much too quickly there’s a regulatory reaction. Also, I wonder if after spending 70 billion Phil is allowed to use THIS much money.
I could be wrong, though.
Why is everything about acquisitions. Board members are looking to cash out while the industry consolidates, and we get less creativity and more exclusivity.
Microsoft should focus on the studios they do have, growing them, developing new IP, and putting out high quality games.
So... ANY acquisition?
I bid $1.oo
I think they’d suit Sony more at this moment in time, they both seem to be going all in with a live service future.
@Fenbops I'm not sure if what Ubisoft is worth is out the question with what Sony could afford?
I love ubisoft but not the direction they are headed. Hopefully they abandon the every game is a game as a service plan. If it takes an acquisition to make it happen so be it.
Ugh hope not. Too much consolidation already!
I could care less who buys who... As long as games i love keep coming out on Xbox, then what the heck do i care who owns the company.
Only viable aquisition should be EA. Having the sports games library inside gamepass as an exclusive service would be gold. Not console exclusive though. Also, having the creators of the Sims onboard would be very wise to use as expert while creating the Microsoft Metaverse.
This statement is for all the (potential) shareholders. He cannot say anything different. And it is nothing new, btw.
I'd settle ubisoft + on xbox full-time right now. Instead of the vague coming soon.
@Lupaie79
Even if MS did acquire them EA doesn't own the sports games, they only licence them and would lose that licence with an acquisition.
@Snake_V5 I have no idea they could well be.
Ubisoft would be the most important publisher to buy, they have so much great franchises and studio's with great potential!
If anything, this would not happen until Activ/Blizz deal goes through.
this is the problem with the Activision deal i dont think regulators will let Microsoft buy any more publishers like ubisoft
Yeah, US and European regulators would lose their sh*t. Not happening.
Best I can do is $20.
Bring back Child of Light, filthy cowards.
People reading too much into it. This is a glossed over way of saying "sorry, not interested, but out of fiduciary obligation we'd have to "review" it formally. Don't call us, we'll call you."
Honestly this is what I want, anyone should be able to play Xbox switch or playstation however they want. I want to play with my friends on other platforms and we want high quality games that don't empty our wallets.
I want to play Xbox gamepass on my switch and playstation exclusives on my Xbox. I think this pretty much sums up what every gamer wants.
So Sony Microsoft and switch unlock complete crossplay and eliminate exclusives and well all be happy
It'd be great if someone who gave a damn bought the Rayman IP from them.
Apart from that, they can bugger right off.
I think if Microsoft acquired Ubisoft and their Ubisoft + subscription service was bundled into game pass ultimate. It would ultimately increase the value of Xbox as a platform. by giving us the gamers in the Xbox ecosystem. More Xbox 1st party ecsusive games
@trev666 I order for Microsoft to be considered a monopoly they as a company. Would have to own 51% of the whole entire gaming space . and after the activation/Blizzard acquisition is complete in 18 months Microsoft will only own 10.2 % of the gaming space. So the regulators would not be watching them aka Microsoft because they are not even close to monopolizing the market
All these acquisitions are enriching my gaming experience on xbox. Ubisoft, EA, take two interactive, and maybe square enix need to real!y be look at by Phil Spencer
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