Ubisoft laid off 1,500 people in a year and plans to tighten its belt even more. This will be helped by AI, which is already ubiquitous in the company, and a big deal with Tencent

Ubisoft has confirmed that Tencent's strategic investment in the newly established Vantage Studios has been finalized. The Chinese giant acquired 26.32% of the economic shares in the company, which was valued at 3.8 billion euros before the transaction. As a result, 1.16 billion euros have been added to the French company's funds, which, as CEO Yves Guillemot states, will greatly improve the publisher's financial standing and offer financial relief.

Vantage Studios – The new home for Ubisoft's biggest brands

The new entity, operational since October 1, is taking over the management of three major Ubisoft brands: Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six. It will be led by Christophe Derennes and Charlie Guillemot, the son of Yves Guillemot.

Vantage is set up to work like a bunch of independent "creative houses," which are smaller teams with their own leadership and game plan. The goal is to increase the efficiency, creativity, and development pace of the brands, which Ubisoft promises will become franchises generating "one billion euros annually" in the future.

Yves Guillemot described the finalization of the agreement as a "milestone" in the company's transformation.

Cost-saving initiatives remain "on track"

In the latest financial report (which we discussed in detail before), Ubisoft once again referred to the ongoing cost reduction program. The company confirmed that the cost-saving initiatives remain "on track" and have resulted in the departure of 1,500 employees over the past 12 months.

It's good to remember that not all these departures were due to layoffs – some were because of a "voluntary career transition program" that's part of the planned restructuring of the Nordic studios.

Ubisoft also revealed that this is not the end of cost-cutting. The report includes a plan for the 2026-2027 fiscal year to cut the fixed cost base by at least 100 million euros compared to the 2024-2025 fiscal year. The publisher declares that the program is proceeding according to schedule, but they haven't really nailed down what exactly they'll be doing in the next few years.

Ubisoft wants to be an AI leader

During the presentation of the results, Yves Guillemot devoted a lot of attention to gen AI. He claims that it is "a revolution for our industry as the shift to 3D," and AI has already been implemented in all of the company's teams.

Ubisoft is creating both tools to support development and features aimed at players, including experimental NEO NPCs, whose prototypes were showcased in 2023. The company announced that more information about AI will be shared with players before the end of the year.

Ubisoft jumping into the world of generative AI might not exactly get players all hyped up. A good example is the situation related to Anno 117: Pax Romana, which sparked a lot of discussion and criticism after it was revealed that AI-generated elements were used in its development.

• Ubisoft
• financial results
• layoffs / employments
• Tencent