Ubisoft Responds to Sale Rumors: ‘Star Wars Outlaws’ Publisher ‘Regularly Reviews All Its Strategic Options’
“Star Wars Outlaws” and “Assassin’s Creed” game publisher Ubisoft has broken its silence regarding a potential sale of the company without explicitly confirming one way or another if it’s in active negotiations.
Last week, Bloomberg reported that Chinese tech company Tencent and the family of Ubisoft co-founder and CEO Yves Guillemot were exploring a buyout of the France-based Ubisoft amid the delay of “Assassin’s Creed Shadows” and the bumpy August release of “Star Wars Outlaws.”
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Tencent and the Guillemot family currently own 10% and 20%, respectively, of Ubisoft voting rights.
“Ubisoft has noted recent press speculation regarding potential interests around the Company,” Ubisoft said in a statement issued Monday. “It regularly reviews all its strategic options in the interest of its stakeholders and will inform the market if and when appropriate. The Company reiterates that management is currently focused on executing its strategy, centered on two core verticals – Open World Adventures and GaaS-native experiences.”
On Sept. 25, Ubisoft revealed that its eagerly anticipated next installment in the popular “Assassin’s Creed” franchise, “Assassin’s Creed Shadows” had been delayed to Feb. 14, 2025 from its previously planned Nov. 15 release. Ubisoft said the decision was made based on weak performance for new title “Star Wars Outlaws” and lower than expected profit in the current quarter.
At that time, Ubisoft co-founder and CEO Yves Guillemot said an executive committee supervised by the Ubisoft board of directors would be “launching a review aimed at further improving our execution, notably in this player-centric approach, and accelerating our strategic path towards a higher performing model to the benefit of our stakeholders and shareholders.”
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