After announcing a partnership between Ubisoft and Tencent earlier this year, both companies have now revealed the name of the new joint studio that will be handling Far Cry, Assassin’s Creed, and Rainbow Six in the future: Vantage Studios. Composed of roughly 2,300 employees across different branches of Ubisoft, the studio will be run by Christophe Derennes and Charlie Guillemot, the son of CEO of Ubisoft, Yves Guillemot.
One benefit of Vantage Studios, according to sources close to Eurogamer, is that each team will retain more control over its respective franchise than before. In the old Ubisoft model, Ubisoft would own any respective code and/or concepts that were created by its subsidiaries. Vantage, on the other hand, will be able to make changes to its games and plans to better match what is currently happening within the industry. That should theoretically prevent situations like what Sony is dealing with from the fallout of its “Games As A Service” turn.
Tencent, meanwhile, will hold a 25% stake in Vantage Studios and perform something of an advisory role to its leadership. While Derennes and Guillemot ultimately retain creative control over any business decisions, it does mean that some form of placating will take place if a game drifts too far from what Tencent wants. Even still, Ubisoft seems hopeful that this new setup will grant Vantage a degree of freedom it wouldn’t have had under strict Ubisoft leadership.
Past Tencent news
Tencent acquires 49.9% stake in Guillemot Brothers Ltd. (majority shareholders in Ubisoft)
Playtonic announces Tencent investment, major expansion plans ahead
Developer Sumo Digital has been acquired by Tencent for $1.27 billion
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Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
