Key Takeaways
- Ubisoft faces potential privatization and major strategic shifts in 2025, according to analyst Joost van Dreunen.
- XDefiant’s shutdown could reflect broader trust issues in Ubisoft’s gaming approach.
- Ubisoft’s future plans remain uncertain.
Entertainment analyst Joost van Dreunen believes that Ubisoft is headed for privatization and other major shifts in strategies. 2024 has been a particularly hard year for Ubisoft. Despite having a hold on giant IPs like Assassin’s Creed, Rainbow Six, and Prince of Persia, recent outings have been less than stellar, with the reception to releases like Star Wars Outlaws highlighting what could be a broader lack of trust in Ubisoft’s approach to gaming.
Most recently, Ubisoft announced plans to shut down XDefiant, its first-person shooter that set out to contend with gaming giants like Call of Duty. Many people expected XDefiant‘s shutdown, predicting the game’s future based on its dwindling player count. Now that XDefiant‘s services are planned to shutter, new registrations and downloads will be blocked, preventing more of Ubisoft’s resources from being allocated towards the title. People following Ubisoft have also taken XDefiant‘s failure as a greater sign of the company’s current status.
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Now that XDefiant is headed toward an early grave, Ubisoft has the opportunity to use one of its biggest franchises in its place.
A report by Joost van Dreunen, a business professor and gaming analyst, suggests that Ubisoft “is headed for privatization and dismantling in 2025.” The analyst supports this claim by citing the company’s track record throughout 2024, especially noting the substantial drop in Ubisoft stocks that occurred this year. Further along, van Dreunen describes the company’s approach to game development as “stubbornly outdated,” suggesting that Ubisoft’s recent habits, including a refusal to take risks, innovate, and find more engaging ways to monetize its games are a pattern leading it towards failure.
Ubisoft Could Be Headed for Major Changes
Rumors of a potential Ubisoft buyout have been floating for a few months, hinging on the fact that investors have encouraged and even demanded the company to go private recently. Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has attempted to manage the conversation surrounding a buyout, and fans have stated their desire for the company to utilize its most well-known IPs to prevent further losses.
Joost van Dreunen points to Assassin’s Creed Shadows as the saving grace for Ubisoft amid several recent missteps, but he doesn’t project confidence in the project restoring the Ubisoft brand. Assassin’s Creed Shadows was delayed to ensure the product gets the best launch possible. However, van Dreunen discusses the way that player trust is a form of currency in the gaming market that Ubisoft is running low on. Although the company has taken steps to ensure a better rapport with its audience, Ubisoft may have attempted to obfuscate its Steam data, which could cause a wider rift. Regardless of how Ubisoft’s next big release fares, many believe the company has a difficult future ahead.
Ubisoft
Ubisoft is a well-known video game developer and publisher with a main headquarters in Saint-Mandé, France. Current CEO Yves Guillemot runs an array of teams responsible for some of the most iconic and well-known series in video games, with franchises like Assassin’s Creed, Farcry, The Crew, Just Dance, and more. Ubisoft also acts as a parent company for an array of other video game developers, including names like Massive Entertainment, Ubisoft Paris, Blue Mammoth Games, Red Storm Entertainment, and more.
- Date Founded
- March 28, 1986
- Headquarters
- Saint Mandé, France
- CEO
- Yves Guillemot