Highlights
- Ubisoft CEO, Yves Guillemot, approves of the Microsoft-Activision deal, seeing it as a positive sign for the industry and highlighting the power of IPs across different platforms.
- Guillemot's emphasis on IPs may be related to Ubisoft's own focus on expanding its Assassin's Creed franchise, with plans for 11 games across various platforms and a shift towards mobile development.
- Guillemot's approval follows similar sentiments expressed by Take-Two Interactive's CEO, Strauss Zelnick, who believes the deal will bring in more users and has no negative impact on other companies' IPs.
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has given his stamp of approval to the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard deal during the French developer’s investor briefing. Microsoft had announced its intention to acquire Activision in January 2022, and is finally on the verge of closing the deal after facing numerous roadblocks.
Microsoft’s efforts to acquire Activison were met with unprecedented pressure from global regulatory authorities like the FTC, EU, and the CMA. All of these conducted their own investigations into the matter, where EU was the first one to approve the deal with some caveats. However, the CMA chose to block the deal, whereas the FTC chose a similar path but also sued Microsoft. However, despite all the odds stacked against it, Microsoft’s Activision deal was approved in the US, with CMA currently trying to work out a deal with Microsoft. Now, as everything is in place for Microsoft, Ubisoft’s CEO has said that the deal is a good sign for the industry.
As reported by GameSpot, Guillemot said that the Microsoft acquisition of Activision Blizzard going through is “good news” as it “really shows the power of IPs” and the direction the industry is headed towards. He also mentioned that this deal shows the value of IPs on different platforms like PC, console, and mobile as well. Furthermore, he also said how mobile is an important part of Microsoft’s plans with Activison, and that Ubisoft is also aligned with the same.
One reason Guillemot emphasizes on IPs could be that Ubisoft itself is seemingly doubling down on its Assassin’s Creed franchise. It is rumored to be working on around 11 Assassin’s Creed games across different platforms, including mobile and VR. Previously, a report claimed that Ubisoft was already expanding its Assassin’s Creed development team, which now makes sense owing to the number of projects it is working on. In its mobile focus, Ubisoft is already working on Assassin's Creed Codename Jade, and also recently announced a mobile RPG based on the popular comic and Amazon show Invincible. This shift in focus seemingly came after Ubisoft canceled around 7 games last year following a disappointing financial performance.
Guillemot also isn’t the first one to give his approval to Microsoft's Activision deal as Take-Two Interactive’s CEO Strauss Zelnick had already said the same last year. Zelnick’s belief was that the acquisition will bring in more users in the market which will result in a net positive. He also mentioned that this will not affect the market for Take-Two’s IPs as it all depends on what consumers like.
Source: GameSpot