The Ubi-Takeover

 It's no secret that me and Ubisoft aren't exactly twilight lovers caught across a vast storm. In fact, I'd consider the company an embodiment of everything wrong with modern art exclusively within the gaming medium. The aren't the only such company, unfortunately, so I can't even give them the gratis of embodying all that poison and sparing the rest of the industry. They really just a collection of the most contemptable, ignorant little golems that manage to drag themselves across this industry based purely on the talents of those they wring dry- of whose talents it speaks greatly that they still put out viable products after being squeezed through the Ubi-grinder of mediocrity. Not that I think it saves the artistry of such games, but some people find their work bearable, and that is commendable. But what if they could be worse?

Such is the question floating around the Ubisoft conversation in the wake of some genuinely surprising downturns in their fortunes that are chumming up the waters around this monstrosity of a creative house in a manner that has me both rooting for the sharks whilst, more sensibly, praying the management at Ubi aren't cooked enough to stay in charge. They can't put together a piece of art to save their life but they've proven themselves half decent in the rare exception here and there- usually despite their own better judgement. Assassin's Creed Mirage was better than I expected, but I think that was simply because the game was forced to be constrained by a withdrawn budget rather than because it was a solid title in it's own right. And unfortunately it would seem the investors agree.

Much has been made about the stock downturn of Ubisoft and not being classically trained within the financial world myself, there's little I can actually deduce from the situation of worth beyond my own general bewilderment. I don't think Ubisoft have gotten any worse in the past few years, they've always been this much of a sty- but it doesn't take a genius to look at the graph and see their stock doesn't appear to be going in a stable direction, let alone the upward trajectory that delusional stock investors yearn for. But then I think back and remark- there really hasn't been a breakout success for the studio since Assassin's Creed Valhalla, now has there? And considering that was 4 years ago- yeah, I suppose I would be getting antsy if I had an investment or two as well.

The very same year as Valhalla was predated by two absolute disasters, Hyperscape- the short lived live service competitive shooter they let die and 'Watch_Dogs: Legion'- one of the lingering plagues god sent to haunt mankind. Immortals Fenyx Rising was a big title from them that reviewed well but sold poorly. Far Cry 6 was a collapse in terms of faith of the franchise but it still sold decently enough to be regarded a success- if not a breakout hit. Their 'Rainbox Six: Extraction' spinoff pretty much faded from the limelight in no time flat, 'Mario and Rabbids: Sparks of Hope' went commercially underappreciated, I only just now found out that there was a Valiant Hearts sequel last year... Great job marketing that one, Ubisoft! A sequel to a BAFTA winner swept under the rug? Assassin's Creed Mirage sold well in comparison to the relatively low development cost, rather than in comparison to the size of the company as a whole. Frontiers of Pandora doesn't appear to be a flop but they don't seem to brag about it's success either so I'm assuming it performed modestly. And this year has seen two well received but largely slept on Prince of Persia spin-offs, an embarrassing resolution to a fourteen year hostage situation called 'Skull and Bones', and now the surprisingly under-performing 'Star Wars Outlaws'. So far this really hasn't been Ubisoft's generation.

Now the big news coming out of the house of Guillemot is an open letter of revolt from their shareholders that are demanding a direct shakeup in the way that the company is run in hopes of facilitating what might shake up to be extreme shakeups. Calls for the company to be taken private (Which sucks, I was hoping to buy the dip...) and 'restructuring' might sound good in the ears of luddites like myself who have been calling for a Ubisoft shakeup for years- but that's only because we don't speak fluent 'Financial'. Those with a bit savvier heads on their shoulders warn that what is meant here is- "We want to strip this company bear and see if it can still stand on it's toes."

That's the problem with the commercial world leeching off of art- they are near incompatible world views in all the most frustrating ways. Artists struggle to make a living off their work in just about any field and financial vampires struggle to comprehend that their logistical view of the world cannot parse down the complexities of art to raw figures. Disney have been trying to crack the mathematical code to consistent cinematic success and to my utmost surprise they've demonstrated a spotty record of late. Their godawful 'safe bet' movies- the live action remake travesties- are starting to wane from the public interest and some are in danger of actually flopping! (Flopping by Movie Standards of course being having less than 1.5 times the budget back- none threaten to not break even or anything yet.) And this is a philosophy as true in gaming as it is in any other artform. You can't math art.

My alarm bells rang as much as everyone else's when I read, among with the many other complaints in that scathing open letter, a comparison in size between Ubisoft and other much more successful developers out there. It is true, Ubisoft is one of the biggest game companies in the world yet deposits a pitiful track record of major games and a stronger, but subtler, collection of small games. This is justification they're looking for. Justification to take a scythe to the Ubisoft departments in order to 'cut away the chafe'. Put people like this in charge and they won't just exacerbate the situation, they will gut Ubisoft of everything it had of value, their actual talented staff, and leave a barely functional husk that, upon failing to deliver the first couple of games out to a decent standard, will be shut down.

What irks me about Ubisoft is the unbelievable potential that they have, if under real leadership that actually knew what they were doing I genuinely believe this studio could be on the heels of companies like Rockstar- I am not exaggerating. But those that have spoken us today, those clueless toadies from the Hamptons? Yeah, scum like that are best off keeping their voice out of conversations like this, let they remind all around how much better they'll serve the world once they've shuffled on to full-time positions as professional fertiliser come their time, and left the actual creators to do what they do best. At the very least, I hope this is a wake-up call to Yves that either he needs to make changes or the worst people you know are going to ruin his legacy before his eyes.