Investors look to Ubisoft as game developer reportedly primed for private buyout

Ubisoft is the latest studio to face buyout rumors in the middle of the whirlwind of acquisitions in the gaming industry. Two private investors are reportedly interested in buying up the developer as their stock price falls.

Ubisoft, originally started by five brothers from the Guillemot family, could join Bungie and Activision Blizzard in the recent tidal wave of major buyouts shaking up the gaming world.

Ubisoft have had their hands in the creation of ground breaking titles since 1986, with the Far Cry, Assassin’s Creed, and Tom Clancy franchises being wholly owned by the company. This is just the tip of the iceberg on the Ubisoft gaming package though.

Rumors have been swirling around the company since February 2022 when the financial world was seen taking interest in the company. Multi-billion dollar investment firms Blackrock and KPP have started actively sniffing around the AAA gaming studio, according to a report by Bloomberg.

The Ubisoft brand has long been fiercely defensive in maintaining a strong Guillemot family presence. The company has fought off buyout attempts previously, but a string of poor PR and bad decisions has left the company struggling.

Internal instability has been paralleled with a growing distrust from gamers worldwide for Ubisoft’s attempts to incorporate NFTs into their gaming ecosystem as well as their lax anti-cheat systems.

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The struggle surrounding Ubisoft means that any of the interested parties in the purchase of the company are getting an incredible deal on the gaming studio package. The company is now worth half of what it was in 2018, down from a stock price of $110 a share to under $50.

 

Speculation has grown rampantly on Twitter around who might be making the purchase of the mammoth gaming studio, and what that shift of IP would do to the gaming landscape.

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In a response to Kotaku about the rumors, a Ubisoft rep said “We don’t comment on rumors or speculation.” Before continuing “we’re ideally positioned to capitalize on the rapid industry growth and platform opportunities that are emerging right now.”