It’s one of the better-known companies in the video game world, but Ubisoft has found itself in trouble in recent times.
The iconic French video game company has put out games in the past few years which pundits expected would become hits, but instead sold below expectations. Such was the case of the eagerly anticipated Star Wars Outlaws, of the earlier Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora and Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown.
Last year’s Assassin’s Creed Shadows was a beacon of hope for the French company though, scoring highly with critics and being one of the best-selling games in the US thanks to tis highly-detailed Japanese setting and great action and stealth gameplay.
Nonetheless, the success of Assassin’s Creed Shadows has not prevented Ubisoft from closing two of its studios recently: one in Halifax, Canada and the other in Stockholm, Sweden as was recently reported on bbc.com. The former studio had worked on mobile games such as Assassin’s Creed Rebellion, while the latter had collaborated on the company’s Avatar game (which flopped).
The company led by CEO Yves Guillemot has also cancelled 6 games, including a remake of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. This means that Prince of Persia fans looking to kill monsters and rewind time in ancient Persia in this remake of the 2003 games will be sorely disappointed.
Also, 7 games currently in development at Ubisoft have been delayed, presumably including their unannounced remake of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag.
All this forms part of a restructuring move which according to CEO Guillemot will “mark a decisive turning point for Ubisoft and reflect our determination to confront challenges head-on” but did admit that “these decisions are difficult”. The company will now seemingly focus on live service games and open world games, with the shift away from mobile games explaining their closing of the Halifax studio.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time won’t be getting a remake after all, as Ubisoft has cancelled the project.
But regarding the cancellation of the Prince of Persia: Sands of Time remake it appears the series will still live on, as one of Ubisoft’s five divisions or “creative houses” as the company calls them will focus on fantasy games, including the Prince of Persia franchise.
Their main division or creative house under the company’s new structure will be Vantage Studios, which will take care of Ubisoft’s premiere franchises: Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry and Rainbox Six.
The next Assassin’s Creed will almost certainly be the Black Flag remake, but those looking forward to sailing the seas of the Caribbean as pirate captain Edward Kenway might now have to wait up to a year more (the remake was originally planned for March this year but may not come out until 2027 now). Also the next entry in first-person shooter series Far Cry is rumored to be in development. But there’s not news on when Far Cry 7 will hit the shelves as Ubisoft has not announced anything yet…
Besides Vantage Studios the other Ubisoft creative houses include one devoted to shooter games (like The Division), another focused on live games (titles such as Skull & Bones) and one focused on casual and family games (the likes of Just Dance).
Ubisoft CEO does seem upbeat about the restructuring judging by his words. Actually, he expects the company’s main division (the aforementioned Vantage Studios) to turn their major franchises like Assassin’s Creed into “billionaire brands”.
This may sound like wishful thinking to some taking into account that the company’s share price tanked more than 30 % after news of this reorganization, video game cancellations and delays became public. The share price sunk below €4 euros (about $4.72 US dollars) in the Paris stock exchange, the lowest in the company’s history. The company was at the height of its power back in the summer 2018 (a few months after releasing Far Cry 5), but has gone downhill since then, losing more than 90 % of its market value.
Here’s hoping, nonetheless, that the iconic video game company can bounce back from this and find success again, delivering great gaming experiences that both its fans and gamers in general can enjoy in the future.