Amid a falling reputation and stock price, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has reportedly moved to assemble a “Transformation Committee” whose main goal it will be to both “guide the evolution” of the Assassin’s Creed studio and help them find a “new lease on life”.
RELATED: Borne From Creator’s Boredom At Ubisoft, ‘Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’ Hits 2 Million Sales And Doubles ‘Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ Steam Player Peak
Per an internal Ubisoft email reviewed by French news broadcaster BFM Tech & CO Nathan Cocquemopot, the ten-person committee, as hand-picked by CEO Yves Guillemot, will spend the next 100 days formulating the best ways to help the studio recover from their recent string of failures and chart a new direction for their future operations.
“We have just passed a monumental moment in Ubisoft’s history which, strengthened by this agreement and the success of Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, will benefit from a new lease in life,” wrote Guillemot, as per a machine translation of his company-wide email provided by DeepL. “The future ahead demands a new energy and a passion for the games that corresponds to the current moment.”
Notably, one of the committee’s members is none other than Yves Guillemot’s son, Charlie Guillemot, who will co-lead the group alongside Ubisoft’s Chief Studios & Portfolio Officer Marie-Sophie de Waubert.
Having previously served as the Studio Manager for Ubisoft subsidiary, Howrse developer Owlient, Charlie exited the company in 2021 after his decision to approve the association of Black Lives Matter imagery with the villainous UMBRA faction in Tom Clancy’s Elite Squad drew massive blowback from the general public.
RELATED: ‘Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ Consultant Says “Asian Men Living In The West” Were More Outraged About Ubisoft Title Than “People Living In Japan”
Alongside Charlie Guillemot and de Waubert, the Transformation Committee membership will also include:
- Alain Corre (Executive Director for Europe, Middle East, Asia-Pacific)
- Cécile Russeil (Chief Legal Officer)
- Christophe Derennes (General Manager, Ubisoft Montréal)
- Jean Guesdon (Assassin’s Creed series Brand Content Manager, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag and Assassin’s Creed: Origins Creative Director)
- Michaël Montaner (VP of Transfomation)
- Nicolas Rioux (Co-Founder and Current General Manager of Ubisoft Quebec)
- Sébastien Froidefond (Chief People Officer)
- Stéphanie Perotti (SVP of Online Services)
Pressed by Cocquemopot for comment on his son’s surprise return, Yves Guillemot assured the reporter that his son was not leading the committee but merely one of its members.
However, according to the internal email reviewed by the reporter, the CEO seems to have contradicted himself, as he explains therein, “To help me bring this new lease of life, I have chosen to propose to my son Charlie Guillemot to participate in the reflections around this transformation of our brands and studios. Together with Marie-Sophie de Waubert, he will be responsible for the Transformation Committee.”
In addition to their vague goal of helping ‘revitalize’ Ubisoft’s operations, Cocquemopot reports that the Transformation Committee will also be responsible for further guiding the Assassin’s Creed developer’s intent, as they confirmed in their Full-Year 2024-2025 Earnings Report, to undertake a “fixed cost reduction of at least €100 million to be achieved over the next two years.”
(Interestingly, this €100 million savings order was handed down after the company had already reported a 2024 annual savings total of €200 million, as achieved by shutting down three of their global studios, including the UK-based Leamington Studio and Ubisoft Reflections as well as their Düsseldorf, Stockholm support studio (formerly Blue Byte).)
While Ubisoft leadership seems to be gung-ho on this new project, those below them have questioned the entire endeavor, with Cocquemoport noting that “For employees contacted by BFM Business, the return of his son is indeed seen as a way to pass the torch to the next generation. Employees also note that, as of now, this internal email has not yet been sent to the studios—likely due to concerns that the news might be poorly received given the current uncertain context.”
Likewise, according to a number of Ubisoft employees who reached out to Insider-Gaming’s Tom Henderson regarding the news, those on the ground are unhappy with the news, as they believe “that the majority of the members within the Committee are the one’s responsible for Ubisoft’s current state.”
“Charlie Guillemot in particular got his fair share of criticism from employees,” further relayed Henderson, “who questioned his qualifications and the Guiellmot’s capabilities on leading Ubisoft to a brighter future.”
While the formation of the Transformation Committee comes relatively hot on the heels of Ubisoft’s decision to shunt their more successful franchise IPs like Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Tom Clancy, it is currently unknown just what connection, if any, exists between the two endeavors.
NEXT: Ubisoft Accused Of Violating EU Privacy Laws Via “Secret Data Collection” In Single-Player Games Like ‘Assassin’s Creed’ And ‘Far Cry’
More About:Video Game News
发表回复