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[Mibu no ookami]

We will likely end up with five major gaming publishers in the future that will rule the entire industry.

I've been telling people for years now that big tech is going to buy out gaming like they're doing with television and movies.

Like them or not but Sony is really the only bastion left against Big Tech's invasion of gaming. It's something they've been fighting against since 2001.

Microsoft was literally trying to buy out the industry.

Apple will follow if they win against the DOJ. Amazon, Netflix, and maybe even Nvidia will follow suit. And for the most part none of these companies are interested in a local device, with maybe the exception of Apple.

Maybe Tencent will foster local gaming too. I could definitely see a Tencent console if they buy Ubisoft.

 

[Karak]

Pretty sure this deal still stands

Tencent increases investment in Ubisoft

Ubisoft today announced a partnership between Tencent and Guillemot Brothers Limited that will see the Chinese tech fir…

www.gamesindustry.biz

Which flatly stops more buys until 2030 of any additional ownership on Tencents part at all. Which they made clear when it happened.
Then again its business.

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

Less. The company only has a €1.8 billion market cap (and this is after a 30% jump on this news).

Perhaps they will try their luck for 2.5-3bil. Tencent have paid big sums for much smaller companies with less known IPs.

 

[Spyxos]

 

[Karak]

Not related to the can or cannot of all this but its NUTS these days that a random news story with no connections sees huge swings in all these companies on the market. Shit teeters on the brink of a single damned web article now. Or more noticable right now I guess.

 

[NickFire]

Btw, it's not like ubisoft will sell to Tencent uncontested and that's that. There will be bidding and EU will likely not allow them to sell to Tencent without a legal fight.
Large actors like MS and even Apple have the funds to buy them, but there are others whom may express interest.

Remember the whole song and dance it took for MS to buy Activision-Blizzard? Selling Ubi to China would be that and more.

I think you’re right. I have a little doubt though. What if Ubi is in real trouble? The cost of game dev and Star Wars ip leads me to believe they took a bath recently. And then they postponed their big holiday title. It’s possible they are in a bad situation now (absolutely no idea on my part - pure speculation of a possibility only).

If they’re in dire straits, would the EU slow walk or block a sale? I’m not convinced there would be a line of buyers. There’s been so much bad press over layoffs, the operations costs must be extraordinary, and they don’t own COD. I might be way off and there might be 20 competitive bidders. But if there is just one, would EU risk that they walked if Ubi is in bad shape. Interesting question.

 

[begotten]

This is really really bad and I really wish it was Microsoft instead.

I need more shit to hoard that I'll never play on my Xbox and more ammunition to use on Twitter.

 

[dragonyeuw]

If not for the shit they got from the ABK deal, I wonder if Microsoft would have made a play. 2 billion is pocket change for them.

 

[Z O N E]

Btw, it's not like ubisoft will sell to Tencent uncontested and that's that. There will be bidding and EU will likely not allow them to sell to Tencent without a legal fight.
Large actors like MS and even Apple have the funds to buy them, but there are others whom may express interest.

Remember the whole song and dance it took for MS to buy Activision-Blizzard? Selling Ubi to China would be that and more.

Microsoft can't buy them due to the streaming rights deal they made with CMA.

Sony won't buy because not only are they market leaders and would get rejected by FTC and everyone else, but they won't be able to afford the upkeep. We're talking about 20,000 employees... I'm pretty sure Playstation has around 8000 in total?

Apple COULD buy them, but I don't see them jumping into gaming this hard yet.

Embracer... well, we've seen what they've been doing and they could get rejected by EU after seeing how many companies they shut down after buying them.

Tencent seems like the clear choice.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

I think you’re right. I have a little doubt though. What if Ubi is in real trouble? The cost of game dev and Star Wars ip leads me to believe they took a bath recently. And then they postponed their big holiday title. It’s possible they are in a bad situation now (absolutely no idea on my part - pure speculation of a possibility only).

If they’re in dire straits, would the EU slow walk or block a sale? I’m not convinced there would be a line of buyers. There’s been so much bad press over layoffs, the operations costs must be extraordinary, and they don’t own COD. I might be way off and there might be 20 competitive bidders. But if there is just one, would EU risk that they walked if Ubi is in bad shape. Interesting question.

That's exactly what Ubisoft will tell the EU. That they'll have to layoff considerable workers and that they're going out of business if the sale does not go through.

I'm not sure who else out there the EU will okay buying Ubisoft and while anyone would be better than Tencent, pretty much all options are bad.

I think I'd be happiest if Nintendo bought them and utilized the IP and restructured their management to get them back into core gaming.

 

[GMAK2442]

I don't think this is right. Game will change a lot.

 

[Zacfoldor]

Tencent buyout means theyll tell SBI to fuck off and actually make decent looking chars. Also means 100% more spyware installed.

I don't remember the cobra boss in Wukong wearing a perm.

On topic, do it!

 

[Mibu no ookami]

Microsoft can't buy them due to the streaming rights deal they made with CMA.

Correct

Sony won't buy because not only are they market leaders and would get rejected by FTC and everyone else, but they won't be able to afford the upkeep. We're talking about 20,000 employees... I'm pretty sure Playstation has around 8000 in total?

Sony being market leader doesn't mean they can't buy companies. The bigger issue is the operating costs and the debt. 2.71 billion in debt.

Sony would layoff most of those employees.

Apple COULD buy them, but I don't see them jumping into gaming this hard yet.

Apple is in the middle of an anti-trust case. They aren't buying anyone.

Embracer... well, we've seen what they've been doing and they could get rejected by EU after seeing how many companies they shut down after buying them.

Embracer probably doesn't have the money.

Tencent seems like the clear choice.

Tencent is an awful choice. Pretty much as bad as it comes.

 

[Randall365]

Who would buy Ubishit at present?

Catching a falling knife over the next six months thanks to all those bloody incels!

 

[Tams]

 

[BlackTron]

Conspiracy theory -- Tencent invested in DEI groups (secret funding) >> DEI makes western publishers agree with their agenda >> Publisher makes a loss on their games due to agenda >> Publisher is in huge financial trouble >> Tencent buys the publisher >> Mission complete

Someone who wants to destroy value is getting what they want.

 

[Saber]

The only thing I could say is good luck handling all these wackos.

 

[Madflavor]

Major publishers getting bought out by big tech isn't a good thing. Mibu no ookami is probably right on the depressing future we're looking at with gaming. And some people are fooling themselves if they think this means no more DEI in Ubisoft games.

Of course good games will still come out, but if you're upset about the current state of the industry, I can tell you it ain't going to get better.

 

[winjer]

From the frying pan and into the fire.
Couldn't they find a worse company than Tencent? Were the Devil or Cthulhu too busy?

 

[Jigsaah]

Microsoft? Where you at?


Hmmm, honestly Sony could right this ship as well.

 

[Z O N E]

Sony being market leader doesn't mean they can't buy companies. The bigger issue is the operating costs and the debt. 2.71 billion in debt.

Sony would layoff most of those employees.

They can buy smaller developers, sure, but they would get rejected trying to buy a big publisher or any publisher. Especially in EU where Playstation holds over a crazy % over Xbox.

But also, like you said, the debt AND let's say in another world Sony was approved to buy them, we would likely see way over 10,000 layoffs because Sony just can't afford it.

 

[Felessan]

Tencent buyout means theyll tell SBI to fuck off and actually make decent looking chars. Also means 100% more spyware installed.

I doubt about both. They will, probably, shake up and streamline Ubi and cut some fat, but in general things will remain the same.

I wouldn't mind. At least there is a chance Tencent will get rid of all the DEI activist pretending to be developers and force them to make games that sell.

As long as company makes money Tencent seems to not care. Riot went woke under Tencent ownership

 

[BigBeauford]

Not sure what the hand-wringing is about. Things cannot get worse for Ubisoft from a consumer perspective.

 

[Bitstream]

On second thought, how much is UBI going for anyway? You guys want to pool some money together and buy UBI?

 

[Herbspiceguy]

How do trading halts work and who gets to decide/mandate such a thing? As a trading noob, this always seemed 'unfair' to me.

 

[Branded]

I don't understand. Can someone summarize this news with more caps please? Thanks.

 

[lmimmfn]

How much yall think UBI is worth? I say 10 billion.

Tencent

 

[Killer8]

Daily reminder that the Chinese fund DEI initiatives. Nothing will change.

 

[TheRaidenPT]

Finally, I'm getting my bailout from Ubisoft stock.... I'm down around 40% since last year lol.

 

[Mibu no ookami]

They can buy smaller developers, sure, but they would get rejected trying to buy a big publisher or any publisher. Especially in EU where Playstation holds over a crazy % over Xbox.

But also, like you said, the debt AND let's say in another world Sony was approved to buy them, we would likely see way over 10,000 layoffs because Sony just can't afford it.

Sony buying ubisoft doesn't change the market. Market leaders buy large companies all the time. Disney bought Fox and the EU approved it. Stop pushing this myth.

The bigger problem is the layoffs, but that's going to happen no matter who buys them.

 

[The Chairman]

Its our time now to dominate all of gaming monkey bros

 

[Astray]

Hope the deal falls through and Ubisoft is forced to go private

The thread title is wrong.

What's happening is the Guillemot family and Tencent (majority stockholders) are considering buying out the public shares and taking the company private. Likely because they want to retool the company without the public market and reporters scrutinizing every single move.

This move is essentially the same thing Michael Dell did back in the 2010s.

 

[DrDryRub]

The dei comments show how simple minded some of you all are.. it's a shame y'all just don't get it.

I can't say if tencent owned studios are better or worse after their acquisitions but China owning more would be a bad thing. Eventually it all goes back to how their gov wants stuff run.

I don't see MS getting involved even though I think they should have bought them over Bethesda. Sony won't get involved so it comes down to apple, Amazon and Google who will just destroy them more since everything Google touches dies

 

[S0ULZB0URNE]

Nowhere to go but up.

 

[ExtendEmbraceExtinguish]

Ew. I like to see developers failing, but a Tencent takeover just turns the company into a propaganda tool.

As long as the games turn out better. I have not enjoyed a Ubisoft game since ghost recon (red storm)

I've been telling people for years now that big tech is going to buy out gaming like they're doing with television and movies.

Like them or not but Sony is really the only bastion left against Big Tech's invasion of gaming. It's something they've been fighting against since 2001.

Microsoft was literally trying to buy out the industry.

Apple will follow if they win against the DOJ. Amazon, Netflix, and maybe even Nvidia will follow suit. And for the most part none of these companies are interested in a local device, with maybe the exception of Apple.

Maybe Tencent will foster local gaming too. I could definitely see a Tencent console if they buy Ubisoft.

this has been said by msft a few years ago that the only competitors are big tech including nvidia before increased valuation/ai craze and tencent.

 

[ExtendEmbraceExtinguish]

The dei comments show how simple minded some of you all are.. it's a shame y'all just don't get it.

I can't say if tencent owned studios are better or worse after their acquisitions but China owning more would be a bad thing. Eventually it all goes back to how their gov wants stuff run.

I don't see MS getting involved even though I think they should have bought them over Bethesda. Sony won't get involved so it comes down to apple, Amazon and Google who will just destroy them more since everything Google touches dies

We have remakes or ue5 versions of fallout/oblivion coming out based on the leaked Ms doc. Since Beth has no competition a graphic update will feed the masses. This will be the Beth test imo.

 

[Moses85]

When Tencent buys Ubi:

$70 edition:

$120 edition:

 

[M1chl]

In this case, I would much prefer Sony or MS buying them. Its scary how much foothold Tencent has on western devs.

 

[ExtendEmbraceExtinguish]

I would lmao if it’s msft over tencent getting ubi. Here for the meltdowns.

 

[poodaddy]

Maybe the terrible company will somehow get worse? Eh, fuck em.

 

[lh032]

seems like good news, atl east theres could be less woke

 

[Loomy]

I don't see why Tencent means less DEI.

Companies putting agenda over quality should fail. It's a win.

Eh, every major company has an agenda. They either align with your beliefs or they don't. At that point, you vote with your wallet.

Sony won't buy because not only are they market leaders and would get rejected by FTC and everyone else, but they won't be able to afford the upkeep. We're talking about 20,000 employees... I'm pretty sure Playstation has around 8000 in total?

And that's Ubisoft's problem. To sustain this they need to release a lot and they have to sell a crap ton. Their core studios are the only one surviving an acquisition.

 

[pudel]

The thread title is wrong.

What's happening is the Guillemot family and Tencent (majority stockholders) are considering buying out the public shares and taking the company private. Likely because they want to retool the company without the public market and reporters scrutinizing every single move.

This move is essentially the same thing Michael Dell did back in the 2010s.

So there is a big chance...that nothing will change at all (except layoffs).

 

[Mibu no ookami]

this has been said by msft a few years ago that the only competitors are big tech including nvidia before increased valuation/ai craze and tencent.

Gamers don't realize the danger the industry is in right now. Only slowed down by regulators, high interest rates, and a slowed global economy.

Once things get back to normal, big tech is going to eat this industry unless Sony and Nintendo position themselves against it.

 

[Astray]

So there is a big chance...that nothing will change at all (except layoffs).

Typically taking the company private is a sign that deep surgery is about to occur. You have far less paperwork and disclosures to deal with when you're private vs public.

One thing to also keep in mind is that this will likely be using private money, so investment funds like Silver Lake etc will certainly be involved.

 

[hemo memo]

Daily reminder that the Chinese fund DEI initiatives. Nothing will change.

China, you're better than this.

 

[PeteBull]

On second thought, how much is UBI going for anyway? You guys want to pool some money together and buy UBI?

And deal with all their DEI hires? Let chinese overlords fuck them over properly instead =D

 

[Plague Doctor]

Purple site members are honestly floored that Ubisoft is in such bad shape right now that Tencent might buy them.

For a place that boasts being filled with industry 'experts', their delusional takes in gaming this past year has been funny as fuck.

Like rando shitposters in steam forums have been right more often than 'verified' experts this year.

 

[pudel]

Typically taking the company private is a sign that deep surgery is about to occur. You have far less paperwork and disclosures to deal with when you're private vs public.

One thing to also keep in mind is that this will likely be using private money, so investment funds like Silver Lake etc will certainly be involved.

But usually the fish stinks from the head. I doubt the Guillemots will change their stance on a lot of stupid decisions in the past. Anyway, lets see how this is going.

 

[dezzy8]

Ew. I like to see developers failing, but a Tencent takeover just turns the company into a propaganda tool.

Do you even like gaming? Maybe you need a new hobby.