Ubisoft has officially confirmed that a member of the Guillemot family is returning to the company.
As reported by Insider Gaming, Yves Guillemot’s son Charlie Guillemot is set to return in a major role, months after Ubisoft revealed their deal to make a subsidiary with TenCent. Ubisoft shared this statement:
With the recent announcement to create a new subsidiary, Ubisoft is undertaking a transformation of its entire organization. Charlie Guillemot has rejoined Ubisoft and is on the internal Transformation Committee that will recommend to the Executive Committee a new operating model designed to ensure Ubisoft’s long-term success.
If you may remember, Ubisoft was facing a business and management crisis through the last year, as the number of failed and underperforming titles was starting to pile up. Ubisoft officially underwent a ‘strategic review’ overseen by ‘independent’ board members, meaning they weren’t members of the Guillemots family. The result of that review was the plan for that subsidiary, 25 % owned by TenCent. The subsidiary would publish their biggest franchises and own the respective studios making their games.
However, there has also been a lot of intrigue surrounding Ubisoft’s moves in the past few months, as this all stemmed from an accusation last September that the Guillemots and TenCent were colluding to slowly bring the family back into the company. If the accusations were true, TenCent quietly sold their shares back to give the Guillemots majority ownership. There were subsequent rumors that the strategic review was secretly a cover for the Guillemots negotiating new deals and plans with TenCent and other investors.
So that’s the reason that this new move to bring back Charlie seems to be extremely controversial. Insider Gaming’s sources are critical of the Guillemots in general, and question Charlie’s qualifications in particular. They also allege that the internal Transformation Committee are the same people responsible for bringing Ubisoft to where it is.
But these rumors of inter-company intrigues may not reflect the actual mood within the company. As we’ve seen through the last few months, AJ Investments, the minority investor who accused Guillemots and TenCent of collusion, was clearly using the press as part of their own plans to influence the company’s direction.
Insider Gaming’s sources say Ubisoft couldn’t explain more of their plans to their own employees, because they’re also in the middle of working them out. We would withhold judgement until Ubisoft reveals to the public, and their employees, what those plans are.
Whether you like or hate the Guillemots, it is possible to appreciate the strange bind they are in. They’re certainly worried that the company might collapse under the weight of their mistakes. They may feel they should step away but also worry that they won’t be able to save it if they’re no longer involved. And there’s sufficient reason from their controversies and lawsuits to believe that many of Ubisoft’s own employees would prefer to see them go, but we don’t really know what they’re thinking.
We wish the best for the people making games at Ubisoft, and after that, we hope that the companies’ big franchises that have become beloved by fans will be saved. If management can make their plans stick, that would be a great outcome to reach these goals. We certainly don’t want to hear about any more layoffs or closures from Ubisoft in the future.
