Back in March, Ubisoft announced it would be creating a Tencent-backed subsidiary focused on its biggest franchises: Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six. Today, on its first day of operation, the name of that subsidiary has been revealed: Vantage Studios.
GamesIndustry.biz understands that the division was initially codenamed Nova, and the name Vantage Studios was chosen through an employee vote.
Vantage Studios will include Ubisoft’s offices in Montréal, Quebec, Sherbrooke, Saguenay, Barcelona, and Sofia, with the group totalling 2,300 employees.
The new division reflects Ubisoft’s previously stated intention to reorganise into “creative houses,” shifting towards a less-centralised operating model. The idea is for these creative houses to have more control over their business plans and creative direction.
As the first such creative house, Vantage Studios will be able to set the direction for Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six, although it will remain part of the overall Ubisoft group.
Tencent has a 25% stake in Vantage Studios – part of a €1.16 billion ($1.25 billion) cash injection from the Chinese company. Once the deal with Tencent is completed, GamesIndustry.biz understands that Ubisoft will be brought back to close to zero debt.
Tencent will act in an advisory capacity to Vantage Studios, but the final say on all of the subsidiary’s decisions will rest with its co-CEOs, Christophe Derennes and Charlie Guillemot.
