Artwork for Ubisoft's upcoming game “Assassin's Creed Shadows.”
John Keeble | Getty Images
French video game publisher Ubisoft said Thursday it was appointing advisers to review and pursue strategic options after a report last year suggested most of the company's backers were considering a buyout.
In a strategic update, Ubisoft said it has hired “leading advisors” to explore “transformational strategic and capitalist options to extract the best value for stakeholders.”
“This process will be supervised by independent members of the Management Board. “Ubisoft will inform the market in accordance with applicable regulations if and when the transaction is completed,” the company said in a statement late Thursday.
In October, Bloomberg News reported that the Guillemot family, which founded Ubisoft nearly four decades ago, and the Chinese tech giant Tencent they considered A potential takeover of the company. According to a report at the time, Ubisoft's shares rose over 30%.
“We believe there are several potential paths to generate value from Ubisoft's assets and franchises,” Yves Guillemot, co-founder and CEO, said on Thursday, referring to the company's strategic plan.
Bloomberg's report followed Ubisoft's decision to delay the release of the latest title in the popular “Assassins Creed” video game series, “Assassin's Creed Shadows,” by three months to February 2025.
On Thursday, Ubisoft postponed the release of “Assassin's Creed Shadows” again, pushing it back to March 20.
Ubisoft's shares have fallen 45% over the past 12 months as a result of problems related to the planned releases of hit titles, as well as doubts about the company's strategic direction.
Last year, activist investor AJ Investments called on Ubisoft to sell itself to a private equity fund or Tencent. The investment company then announced that it had obtained the support of 10% of Ubisoft's shareholders for its campaign.
The game developer has also faced criticism for plans to include a paid “season pass” with its new Assassin's Creed game, which would give players access to additional quests and additional downloadable content at launch.
After players heavily criticized this decision as adopting a pay-to-play model, Ubisoft decided to shelve plans for a paid feature.
Ubisoft is under pressure to prove it can turn things around. On Thursday, the company doubled down on its cost-cutting commitment, saying it now expects to achieve more than 200 million euros ($206 million) in cost reductions by the full year 2025-2026 compared with 2022-2023 on an annualized basis.