Ubisofthasn’t been doing great financially over the last few years. There’s been a lot of corporate drama within the company, including a diverted hostile takeover and a near change of ownership, and in an attempt to calm the waters, Ubisoft has decided tocreate a new subsidiarydedicated toAssassin’s Creed,Far Cry, andRainbow Six, backed by Chinese companyTencent.
And the big question of who will head this new subsidiary has finally been answered. Christophe Derennes, one of the co-CEOs, has been with Ubisoft for over 35 years and used to head its flagship Montreal studio, which is the principal developer for the three series the subsidiary focuses on as well asPrince of Persia,Watch Dogs, andSplinter Cell, among others. He most recently was Ubisoft’s managing director for North America.
The other co-CEO is Charlie Guillemot. Guillemot managed the Ubisoft Owlient studio, which made free-to-play games like Tom Clancy’s Elite Squad. Elite Squad was panned by critics and players alike, and was also widely criticised foroffensive iconography and themes. Guillemot then moved on and started a Web3 studio called Unagi with other ex-Ubisoft employees, wherein they made a whole bunch of blockchain games before pivoting into “AI-driven entertainment”. He then returned to Ubisoft as part of its internal transformation committee.
Derennes is Ubisoft CEO and co-founder Yves Guillemot’s cousin. Charlie Guillemot is Yves’ son. Is it me, or is it starting to smell an awful lot like nepotism in here?
Keeping It In The Family, Or Nepotism?
If you’re at all familiar with Ubisoft, you might be aware that it’s a family-owned business. It was founded by five Guillemot brothers in the 1980s. Many family businesses opt to pass through generations of a family. I, myself, briefly worked for my parents’ small business, because they wanted me to eventually be able to take over for them.
However, my parents’ business is not worth billions of euros, nor are they liable to shareholders, and there were also no employees for me to mismanage, other than myself. There’s a difference between a family business and nepotism. That difference is when you have immense power and wealth, and you’re parachuting family members into roles they’re not qualified for when there are perfectly viable alternatives that you’re not related to.
Nepotism has existed in Ubisoft for decades – in Derennes’ case, that seems to have worked out just fine, but Ubisoft is not the company it was three decades ago. It is now one of the biggest gaming companies in the world, responsible for multiple iconic franchises and thousands of employees who will, ultimately, be the ones suffering the real life consequences of corporate mismanagement.
According toan interview with Variety, Yves Guillemot believes “Christophe and Charlie are the right people” to help Ubisoft as it engages in “the reimagining of the future of this company”. Christophe brings “a deep production expertise and decades of hands-on production leadership” on the franchises in question.
Charlie, on the other hand, “brings an entrepreneurial perspective, a sharp understanding of evolving industry dynamics and players’ expectations, shaped by his experience in game development. He has a strong product mindset, a deep understanding of tech, and a passion for games.” Charlie will be focusing “mainly on the brands, their vision, creative direction, content development, as well as marketing”. Derennes will focus on “production and technology”.
Charlie acknowledges that there will be nepotism accusations, and says, “I know trust is earned, not given.”
What Does This Say About Ubisoft’s Direction?
I’d like to take this opportunity to reiterate that Charlie’s experience in gaming has been restricted to a minor Ubisoft studio with very little impact, a bunch of Web3 fantasy sports games, andwhatever this is. Not to beat a dead French horse, but these are hardly the qualifications you’d expect of one of the people expected to head three of Ubisoft’s longest-running and most important franchises.
But what I’m more concerned about is what it indicates is in Ubisoft’s future. We’ve already seen the company dabble with this kind of tech on multiple occasions. Itput Rabbids on the blockchain. Itput NFTs in its figurines. It launchedan NFT game, and thenanotherone. Like many studios, it’s also trying to get AI to work in its games,with no success.
From statements over the years, it seems that the Guillemots believe this is the path forward for games and for the company, despite years of pushback from players. Well, that, or they think it’s the direction that’s going to generate maximum value for its shareholders. I know whichIthink is more likely. It’s not a future I’d like to see for Ubisoft, and it’s likely to be a very unpopular one with players – only time will tell if the company goes all the way down the rabbit hole.
