Tencent Rumored to Be in the Running to Purchase So Much More of Ubisoft in a Bid to Save the Company From Failure
As uncertainty looms over Ubisoft and its future, it looks like Tencent is aiming to buy the company and expand its gaming influence.
- With Skull and Bones, XDefiant, and more, Ubisoft has not had the greatest 2024.
- The company's fate is in a dire state due to multiple underperforming titles this year.
- Chinese behemoth Tencent is looking to acquire the Assassin's Creed Shadows publisher.
Ubisoft’s journey in the realm of gaming took quite a drastic turn in 2024, with multiple massive video games underperforming to such an extent that the company’s future has apparently become uncertain.
A developer and publisher who became extremely popular due to iconic IPs like Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry has been severely hit by recently released titles like Skull and Bones and XDefiant, leading to its fate hanging in the balance as rumors about it getting bought by another behemoth in the gaming landscape have started to pop up.
However, despite the studio behind Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell being despised and receiving a lot of backlash for a long time, it seems like fans actually care about what happens to it going forward, and getting purchased by Tencent may not have been at the top of their preferred outcomes.
Tencent Might Be Looking to Expand Its Gaming Catalogue by Buying Ubisoft
The unfortunate delay of Assassin’s Creed Shadows could not have come at a worse time for Ubisoft, as the studio had a lot riding on its upcoming title to get back in the good graces of its fanbase and shareholders alike, but now that the game is going to launch in 2025, there is not much else that seems to be keeping the developer afloat in a highly competitive industry.
Kicking off the year comparatively well with Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, Ubisoft seemed to be on a relatively better track until it launched Skull and Bones the very next month, starting a downward spiral that is proving quite difficult for the company to get out of. It turns out that things have gone so south that the company is reportedly facing a bidding war, with Tencent being the biggest potential buyer looking to expand its own gaming catalog.
However, the acquisition of Ubisoft by Tencent is an idea that is not being well-received by the former’s fanbase, as despite some major hiccups that the studio has gone through recently, it has still been responsible for some of the most popular single-player gaming experiences.
To put things into more perspective as to why fans are not necessarily too fond of Tencent buying Ubisoft, the Chinese company owns more studios than Sony, Microsoft, Electronic Arts, and Take-Two Interactive, rivalled only by Embracer Group when it comes to gaming territory.
But with the addition of the huge number of studios that come under Ubisoft, Tencent will own a significant chunk of what the industry has to offer, bringing it much closer to Embracer and leaving the competition behind by a massive margin.
Ubisoft Fans Believe That Tencent Doesn’t Have the Greatest Track Record With Its Studios
In the mobile gaming market, Tencent’s dominance is undoubtedly unmatched, but aside from Riot Games and Funcom, which is not having the greatest reception for its upcoming Dune: Awakening, its presence in other sectors of the industry is not too prominent, which is naturally causing some concerns among the Ubisoft fanbase.
Fans believe that Tencent has a history of acquiring and mismanaging the studios that come under its umbrella, worrying that due to the sheer number of developers that Ubisoft supports all across the world, the day isn’t far when a few of them will be shut down due to sales not meeting expectations.
The community also foreshadows that the overwhelming occupancy that Tencent has within many companies in the video game industry and the potential inclusion of Ubisoft-owned studios to its lineup could have drastic effects on the state of gaming in the future.
Considering that Tencent’s potential acquisition of Ubisoft is still just a rumor, it remains to be seen what the future really holds in store for the Assassin’s Creed Shadows developer.
