Tencent and Guillemot Family Reportedly Considering a Buyout of Ubisoft

Chinese conglomerate Tencent and Guillemote Brother Ltd are reportedly exploring a variety of ways to stabilize Ubisoft after recent troubles, which could even include a total buyout.

Sources close to Bloomberg have told the outlet that the two companies have spoken to advisors about different options, but the discussion is currently at an early stage with nothing confirmed. In response to the report, Ubisoft’s shares have now skyrocketed by 30 percent, a huge boost after months of decline.

Guillemote Family Ltd is a company run in part by Yves Guillemote, the long-serving CEO of Ubisoft. The family owns roughly 20 percent of the company’s shares, while Tencent currently owns a 9.2% stake. But at the same time, Tencent increased its stake in Guillemote Family Ltd in 2022, which means it indirectly owns more of Ubisoft.

These developments come on the back of a wave of recent troubles for Ubisoft, including a tumbling stock price for the last two months. In September a minority shareholder, AJ Investments, called for Ubisoft to go private after a sharp decline.

Since then, the company has released Star Wars Outlaws to mixed critical reception, and we now know the game has only sold just over 1 million copies in its first month. While those aren’t absolutely terrible numbers, they likely come in well under what Ubisoft was predicting for a massive AAA Star Wars game. In our review , we gave Outlaws an 8.5/10, saying “Despite technical issues, Star Wars Outlaws was an incredibly engrossing adventure from its unique story perspective and engaging gameplay, it is the scoundrel story fans have always wanted.”

Following news of Outlaws ‘ sales, Ubisoft revised its financial targets and delayed Assassin’s Creed Shadows from November to February 2025. With those announcements, Guillemot said, “Our second quarter performance fell short of our expectations, prompting us to address this swiftly and firmly, with an even greater focus on a player-centric, gameplay-first approach and an unwavering commitment to the long-term value of our brands.”

At the same time, the company also initiated an internal review on how it can improve its internal performance.