Ubisoft Share Price Plummets 50% in 2024 Amid Poor Sales, Tencent and Guillemot Family Mull Buyout

Ubisoft Suffers Sharp Decline in Market Value as Tencent and Guillemot Family Consider Private Ownership 2024 has proven to be a challenging year for Ubisoft, the renowned publisher behind blockbuster franchises such as Assassin’s Creed and Prince of Persia.

Following a string of difficult business decisions and lukewarm game launches, Ubisoft’s market value has plummeted by 50% over the course of the year.

This dramatic drop has prompted both Tencent and the Guillemot family—the latter being Ubisoft’s founding stakeholders—to weigh the possibility of taking the company private in hopes of stabilizing its future prospects. According to a report from Bloomberg, discussions between Tencent, one of Ubisoft’s largest shareholders, and the Guillemot family have commenced.

Both parties have enlisted the help of financial advisors to explore strategies for restoring Ubisoft’s value.

Sources indicate that conversations remain preliminary, with no current guarantee that a buyout or any specific transaction will ultimately take place.

Notably, the mere speculation surrounding a potential acquisition has already triggered a swift 33% rebound in Ubisoft’s stock price, illustrating the market’s sensitivity to possible shifts in the company’s ownership and direction. A series of setbacks have contributed to Ubisoft’s tumultuous year.

The publisher’s share price reached its lowest level in years this September, attributed largely to subdued critical reception and weaker-than-expected sales for Star Wars Outlaws—one of Ubisoft’s most anticipated releases.

Additionally, Ubisoft announced a postponement for Assassin’s Creed Shadows, the next installment in its flagship stealth franchise.

The game, originally slated for a late 2024 release, has now been delayed to February 2025 as the company works to prevent a repeat of past project setbacks. Despite the negative headlines, not all Ubisoft projects have met with disappointment.

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, released earlier this year for platforms including the Nintendo Switch, garnered widespread acclaim as one of the best Metroidvania-style games in recent memory.

Nevertheless, industry analysts remain cautious about its commercial potential, citing Ubisoft’s historical pattern of steep game discounts shortly after launch—a practice that may be dampening overall sales performance across its portfolio. As Ubisoft confronts these pressing challenges, the company’s next moves will be closely watched by investors, gamers, and industry observers alike.

Whether a buyout led by Tencent and the Guillemot family materializes or not, Ubisoft’s response to its current market pressures will likely set a course for the publisher’s future in an evolving video game landscape.

Ubisoft Star Wars Star Wars Outlaws Tencent Guillemot family Assassin's Creed Shadows Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Nintendo Switch