Tencent Now Owns 25% Of Ubisoft

Tencent has dropped more than a billion dollars to snag a 25% minority stake in a freshly minted Ubisoft subsidiary. This new entity will zero in on three of Ubisoft’s heavy hitters: Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six, while the rest of Ubisoft’s franchises stay under the original company’s umbrella. The deal cost Tencent €1.16 billion (about $1.25 billion), valuing the subsidiary at over $4 billion—a figure that slightly edges out Ubisoft’s own market value. That price tag speaks volumes about how much investors are willing to bet on just three of Ubisoft’s IPs.

Per the press release, this subsidiary aims to craft “evergreen, multi-platform” game ecosystems. With a bigger budget and beefed-up creative resources, it plans to elevate single-player storytelling, ramp up multiplayer content with more frequent updates, dip into free-to-play options, and weave in social features.

The deal isn’t locked in yet—it’s got some hoops to jump through before finalizing by year’s end. Finexsi will weigh in with a fairness opinion, regulatory green lights are needed, and Ubisoft will have to reorganize teams globally based on which IPs they’re tied to now or will tackle later.

Meanwhile, Ubisoft proper will keep its focus on growing big-name franchises like Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon and The Division.

CEO Yves Guillemot, who’s riding high after pushing for this exact move weeks ago, said, “By spinning off a subsidiary to lead development on three of our biggest franchises and bringing Tencent on as a minority partner, we’re locking in the value of our assets, shoring up our finances, and setting the stage for these franchises to thrive long-term.”