Earlier in 2025, news broke that Ubisoft had brokered a deal with Chinese gaming giant Tencent, which resulted in a whopping $1.25B USD investment in a new Ubisoft subsidiary.
Charged with handling some of the French-Canadian developer’s biggest ticket franchises, including “Far Cry,” “Assassin’s Creed,” and “Rainbow Six,” the subsidiary now has its Co-CEO’s, including the son of Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot and former head of Ubisoft-owned studio Owlient, Charlie Guillemot.
Guillemot will head up the team alongside the as-of-now former MD of Ubisoft Montreal, Christophe Derennes. Derennes has prior experience with many of the primary IPs being handed off to the subsidiary, having helped oversee development on games for all three of the named franchises.
The intention behind the split is to develop the three franchises — Ubisoft’s three most commercially successful franchises — with a “focus on building brand ecosystems capable of becoming evergreen, billion-euro franchises.”
Ubisoft elaborated, “Backed by greater investment and boosted creative capacities, it will drive further increases in quality of narrative solo experiences, expand multiplayer offerings with increased frequency of content release, introduce free-to-play touchpoints, and integrate more social features.”
Tencent, which holds a 10% voting stake in Ubisoft, will hold a minority stake in the new company, while Ubisoft will retain major control. In a Q&A with Variety, Guillemot addressed any claims of nepotism.
“I’d like to address this question directly, if I may. I completely understand where it comes from, and I want to be clear about it. Yes, I’m Yves’ son. That’s not something I hide from. But my appointment isn’t only about family ties; it’s about what Ubisoft needs at this moment.”
Don't worry about me being a nepo baby, says nepo babyhttps://t.co/P3E7WgqWR8 pic.twitter.com/XkTPzPCzVQ
— Aftermath (@Aftermath_site) July 16, 2025
While the franchises within this new wheelhouse have active projects in development, an apparent 12-month release gap seems guaranteed, a gambit for one of the world’s largest gaming publishers.
“Far Cry 7” has been confirmed in a FY2027-28 release window. “Assassin’s Creed” has remakes of older titles in the works, as well as ongoing development for “Assassin’s Creed Shadows” and the mysterious “Assassin’s Creed Hexe” also slated for a 2027 release.