History of Ubisoft in Timeline

Ubisoft Entertainment SA is a French video game publisher based in Saint-Mandé, France. With development studios globally, Ubisoft is known for creating and publishing numerous popular video game franchises. Key franchises include Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, Just Dance, Prince of Persia, Rayman, Tom Clancy's series, Driver, Rabbids and Watch Dogs. The company plays a significant role in the video game industry, producing a wide range of titles across various genres for multiple gaming platforms.

1984: Guillemot Informatique Founded

In 1984, Guillemot Informatique, the first business of the Guillemot brothers, was founded. Initially, it operated through mail order, eventually securing orders from French retailers due to its ability to undercut competitors' prices by up to 50%.

1985: Guillemot Corporation Established

In 1985, the Guillemot brothers established Guillemot Corporation for the distribution of computer hardware, similar to their existing business.

March 1986: Ubi Soft Founded

On March 28, 1986, the Guillemot brothers founded Ubi Soft Entertainment S.A. The name "Ubi Soft" was chosen to represent "ubiquitous" software.

May 1986: Sylvie Hugonnier Leaves Ubi Soft

In May 1986, Sylvie Hugonnier, the director of marketing and public relations, left Ubi Soft to join Elite Software.

June 1986: Ubi Soft Moves to Créteil

In June 1986, Ubi Soft moved its operations from offices in Paris to Créteil.

1986: Guillemot Informatique Earnings

By 1986, Guillemot Informatique was earning approximately 40 million French francs (around US$5.8 million at that time).

January 1987: Zombi Sales and Distribution Partnerships

By January 1987, Zombi, Ubi Soft's first game, had sold 5,000 copies. Ubi Soft also entered into distribution partnerships for the game to be released in Spain and West Germany.

1988: Developers Working from the Chateau

By 1988, Ubi Soft had about 6 developers working from the chateau, including Michel Ancel and Serge Hascoët.

1988: Yves Guillemot Appointed CEO

In 1988, Yves Guillemot was appointed as Ubi Soft's chief executive officer.

1993: Guillemot Informatique Largest Distributor in France

By 1993, Guillemot Informatique had become the "largest" distributor of video games in France.

1994: Studio Established in Montreuil

In 1994, Michel Guillemot decided to establish a studio in Montreuil to house over 100 developers, targeting a line of 5th generation consoles. This was influenced by Ancel's game prototype.

1995: Rayman Released

In 1995, Rayman, a game developed by Michel Ancel, was released.

1996: Initial Public Offering and Studio Openings

In 1996, Ubi Soft listed its initial public offering and raised over US$80 million to expand the company. Worldwide studios were established in Annecy and Shanghai in the same year.

1997: Montreal Studio Opening

In 1997, Ubi Soft established a worldwide studio in Montreal.

1998: Milan Studio Opening

In 1998, Ubi Soft established a worldwide studio in Milan.

1999: Game Studios Aimed at Online Free-to-Play Titles Founding

Around 1999, Ubi Soft decided to take advantage of the "widespread growth" of the Internet by founding game studios aimed at online free-to-play titles, including GameLoft.

1999: Crytek Demo and Ubisoft Partnership

In 1999, Crytek demonstrated its CryEngine demo called X-Isle: Dinosaur Island at the Electronic Entertainment Expo. Ubisoft saw the demo, which later led to Ubisoft partnering with Crytek on Far Cry.

2000: Acquisition of Red Storm Entertainment

In 2000, Ubi Soft purchased Red Storm Entertainment, gaining access to the Tom Clancy's series of stealth and spy games, after an infusion of €170 million.

March 2001: Acquisition of The Learning Company's Entertainment Division

In March 2001, Ubisoft acquired The Learning Company's entertainment division from Gores Technology Group, which included rights to intellectual properties such as the Myst and Prince of Persia series.

2001: Establishment of Editorial Department

Around 2001, Ubi Soft established its editorial department headed by Hascoët, who was initially named as editor in chief and later known as the company's Chief Content Officer.

2002: Development of Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell

In 2002, Ubi Soft worked with Microsoft to develop Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, an Xbox-exclusive title designed to compete with the PlayStation-exclusive Metal Gear Solid series.

September 2003: Name Change to Ubisoft

On 9 September 2003, Ubi Soft announced that it would change its name to Ubisoft, and introduced a new logo known as "the swirl".

2003: Release of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and Beyond Good & Evil

In 2003, Ubisoft Montreal released Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, and Ubi Soft released Beyond Good & Evil, which was initially a commercial flop but later gained a cult following.

December 2004: Electronic Arts Acquires Stake in Ubisoft

In December 2004, Electronic Arts purchased a 19.9% stake in Ubisoft, which Ubisoft referred to as "hostile".

2004: Far Cry Release and EA Deal with Crytek

In 2004, Ubisoft released the first Far Cry. That year, Electronic Arts established a deal with Crytek to build a wholly different title with an improved version of the CryEngine, leaving them unable to continue work on Far Cry. Ubisoft assigned Ubisoft Montreal to develop console versions of Far Cry, and arranging with Crytek to have all rights to the Far Cry series and a perpetual licence on the CryEngine.

February 2005: Acquisition of Sports Franchises from Microsoft

In February 2005, Ubisoft acquired the NHL Rivals, NFL Fever, NBA Inside Drive and MLB Inside Pitch franchises from Microsoft Game Studios.

July 2006: Acquisition of the Driver Franchise

In July 2006, Ubisoft bought the Driver franchise from Atari for €19 million, including the franchise, technology rights, and most assets.

2007: Ubisoft Anvil Engine Development

In 2007, Ubisoft Montreal developed the Ubisoft Anvil (formerly Scimitar) game engine for the first Assassin's Creed game. It has since been expanded and used for most Assassin's Creed titles and other Ubisoft games.

2007: Launch of Assassin's Creed

In 2007, Ubisoft launched Assassin's Creed, which was originally developed by Ubisoft Montreal as a sequel to Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.

July 2008: Acquisition of Hybride Technologies

In July 2008, Ubisoft acquired Hybride Technologies, a Piedmont-based studio.

November 2008: Acquisition of Massive Entertainment

In November 2008, Ubisoft acquired Massive Entertainment from Activision.

2008: Dunia Engine Premieres with Far Cry 2

In 2008, Ubisoft Montreal modified the CryEngine to create the Dunia engine, which included destructible environments and a realistic physics engine. The Dunia engine premiered with Far Cry 2.

2010: EA Sells Shares in Ubisoft

In 2010, Electronic Arts (EA) ended up selling its shares in Ubisoft, resolving the earlier hostile situation.

2011: Ubisoft Film & Television Division Initiated

In 2011, Ubisoft initiated its Ubisoft Film & Television division, initially named Ubisoft Motion Pictures, to develop media works tied to Ubisoft's games.

2012: Dunia 2 Engine Introduced in Far Cry 3

In 2012, Ubisoft introduced the Dunia 2 engine with Far Cry 3. The Dunia 2 engine was made to improve the performance of Dunia-based games on consoles and to add more complex rendering features such as global illumination.

January 2013: Acquisition of South Park: The Stick of Truth

In January 2013, Ubisoft acquired South Park: The Stick of Truth from THQ for $3.265 million.

February 2013: Offering Games from Third-Party Publishers

In February 2013, Ubisoft began offering games from third-party publishers, including Electronic Arts and Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment, on its Uplay Shop and its own games to EA's Origin.

July 2013: Network Breach

In July 2013, Ubisoft announced a breach in its network resulting in the potential exposure of up to 58 million accounts, including usernames, email addresses, and encrypted passwords. The firm denied any credit/debit card information was compromised and directed users to change their passwords.

2013: Rabbids Invasion Series Release

In 2013, the series Rabbids Invasion was released.

Loading Video...

March 2015: Consumer Relationship Centre Set Up

In March 2015, Ubisoft set up a Consumer Relationship Centre in Newcastle-upon-Tyne to integrate consumer support teams and community managers, which are operational 7 days a week.

October 2015: Vivendi Buys Shares in Ubisoft

In October 2015, Vivendi bought shares in Ubisoft stock, giving them a 10.4% stake in Ubisoft. Yves Guillemot considered this action "unwelcome" and feared a hostile takeover.

February 2016: Vivendi Acquires Shares in Gameloft and Guillemots Seek Canadian Investors

In February 2016, Vivendi acquired €500 million worth of shares in Gameloft, gaining more than 30% of the shares. Following Vivendi's actions with Gameloft, the Guillemots asked for more Canadian investors to fend off a similar Vivendi takeover.

June 2016: Vivendi Completes Takeover of Gameloft and Increases Shares in Ubisoft

By June 2016, Vivendi completed the takeover of Gameloft and had increased its shares in Ubisoft to 20.1%, denying it was in the process of a takeover.

September 2016: Annual Board Meeting

By the time of Ubisoft's annual board meeting in September 2016, Vivendi had gained 23% of the shares. A request was made to place Vivendi representatives on Ubisoft's board, which the Guillemots argued against successfully.

December 2016: Vivendi's Stake in Ubisoft

As of December 2016, Vivendi held a 25.15% stake in Ubisoft, approaching the 30% mark that could trigger a takeover.

2016: Yves Guillemot Stresses Independence

During the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2016, Yves Guillemot stressed the importance that Ubisoft remain an independent company to maintain its creative freedom, in light of Vivendi's actions.

2016: Assassin's Creed film Release

In 2016, the live-action film Assassin's Creed was released.

April 2017: Potential Takeover

In April 2017, Reuters reported that Vivendi's takeover of Ubisoft would likely happen that year, and Bloomberg Businessweek observed that some of Vivendi's shares would reach the 2-year holding mark, granting them double voting power.

June 2017: Guillemot Family's Stake in Ubisoft

As of June 2017, the Guillemot family held 13.6% of Ubisoft's share capital, and 20.02% of the company's voting rights.

September 2017: Vivendi's Valuation

As of September 2017, Vivendi, which was seeking to expand its media properties through acquisitions, had an estimated valuation of $6.4 billion.

October 2017: Share Repurchase Deal

In October 2017, Ubisoft announced it reached a deal with an "investment services provider" to help them purchase back 4 million shares by the end of the year, preventing others, specifically Vivendi, from buying these.

November 2017: Vivendi Announces No Ubisoft Acquisition Plans

In November 2017, Vivendi announced that it had no plans to acquire Ubisoft for the next 6 months and would not seek board positions. They also stated that their interest in Ubisoft would not exceed 30% through the doubling of voting rights. Vivendi remained committed to the video game sector and believed their investment in Ubisoft could yield over 1 billion euros.

2017: State of the Dunia Engine

By 2017, according to Remi Quenin, the Dunia engine included features such as vegetation, fire simulation, destruction, vehicles, systemic AI, wildlife, weather, day/night cycles, and non linear storytelling, which are elements of the Far Cry games.

March 2018: Ubisoft and Vivendi Deal

In March 2018, Ubisoft and Vivendi reached an agreement ending potential takeover attempts. Vivendi agreed to sell its shares to other parties and refrain from buying Ubisoft shares for 5 years. Tencent acquired some shares and partnered with Ubisoft to bring their games to the Chinese market.

September 2018: Ubisoft Co-founds Blockchain Game Alliance

In September 2018, Ubisoft co-founded the Blockchain Game Alliance, a consortium of companies exploring blockchain applications in the video game industry and promoting blockchain-based content in video games.

2018: Ubisoft Focuses on Key Franchises

Since 2018, Ubisoft's studios have been focusing on franchises such as Assassin's Creed, Tom Clancy's, Far Cry, and Watch Dogs. Despite a large number of developers, the company's net revenue per employee was lower than competitors due to lower game sales.

March 2019: Vivendi Completes Divestment of Ubisoft Shares

In March 2019, Vivendi fully divested its shares in Ubisoft, completing the agreement made in March 2018 to end the potential takeover situation.

October 2019: Ubisoft Postpones Game Titles

In October 2019, Ubisoft postponed the release of 3 out of 6 planned titles from 2019 to 2020 or later to improve the quality of existing and released games, due to consumers purchasing fewer games with long playtimes and overall weak sales in 2019.

2019: Editorial Department Under Hascoët

Until 2019, most games published by Ubisoft were reviewed through the editorial department overseen by Hascoët.

January 2020: Ubisoft Reorganizes Editorial Board

In January 2020, Ubisoft announced it would reorganize its editorial board to comprehensively review its game portfolio and introduce greater variation in its games, addressing the stagnant and uniform nature that contributed to weak sales.

July 2020: Ubisoft Employees Accused of Misconduct

In July 2020, amidst the #MeToo movement, several Ubisoft employees were accused of sexual misconduct. Investigations revealed dismissed records of misconduct, leading to staff departures and Yves Guillemot implementing changes to address the issues.

October 2020: Ubisoft Connect Announced

In October 2020, Ubisoft Connect was announced as a replacement for UPlay and its Ubisoft Club, launching on October 29, 2020, alongside Watch Dogs: Legion. It added support for cross-platform play and save progression for some games.

2020: Staffing in Montreal and Quebec City

By 2020, Ubisoft was projected to employ more than 3,500 staff at its studios in Montreal and Quebec City, due to a large investment in the Quebec operations.

2020: Mythic Quest Series Release

In 2020, the series Mythic Quest was released.

Loading Video...

2020: Ubisoft Fiscal Year End 2020

Ubisoft stated in its end of 2020 fiscal year investor call in February 2021 that the company will start to make AAA game releases less of a focus and put more focus on mobile and freemium games following fiscal year 2022.

February 2021: Ubisoft Shifts Focus to Mobile and Freemium Games

In February 2021, Ubisoft announced during its end of 2020 fiscal year investor call that it would be shifting its focus away from AAA game releases towards mobile and freemium games after fiscal year 2022.

October 2021: Ubisoft Invests in Animoca Brands

In October 2021, Ubisoft participated in a round of financing in Animoca Brands.

November 2021: Ubisoft Announces Entertainment Center

In November 2021, Ubisoft announced the development of their first Ubisoft Entertainment Center, created by Storyland Studios and Alterface, with the first location set to open in Studios Occitanie Méditerranée by 2025.

December 2021: Ubisoft Announces Quartz Blockchain Program

In December 2021, Ubisoft announced its Ubisoft Quartz blockchain program, allowing players to buy and trade uniquely identified customization items for games using the Tezos cryptocurrency. The announcement was met with criticism and the announcement video was later unlisted.

July 2022: Ubisoft Cancels Game Titles

In July 2022, Ubisoft announced the cancellation of Splinter Cell VR and Ghost Recon Frontline, along with two other unannounced titles.

2022: Ubisoft Focuses on Mobile and Freemium Games After Fiscal Year

In February 2021, Ubisoft stated in its end of 2020 fiscal year investor call that the company will start to make AAA game releases less of a focus and put more focus on mobile and freemium games following fiscal year 2022.

2022: Ubisoft Workforce in 2022

In September 2023, Ubisoft reduced its number of employees from 20,279 in 2022 to 19,410 as part of a cost reduction plan.

January 2023: Ubisoft Cancels Unannounced Games and Faces Union Strike

In January 2023, Ubisoft cancelled three previously unannounced games due to disappointing financial results. Yves Guillemot asked employees to be strategic with spending, leading to a strike from union workers at Ubisoft Paris demanding higher salaries and improved working conditions.

September 2023: Ubisoft Workforce Reduction

In September 2023, Ubisoft reduced its number of employees from 20,279 in 2022 to 19,410 as part of a cost reduction plan.

October 2023: Microsoft Gives Ubisoft Cloud Gaming Rights

In October 2023, as part of a change in the terms of Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Microsoft gave Ubisoft the rights for cloud gaming of Activision Blizzard's games.

November 2023: Ubisoft Lays Off Employees from VFX and IT Teams

In November 2023, Ubisoft laid off 124 employees from its VFX and IT teams as part of ongoing cost reduction efforts.

March 2024: Ubisoft Lays Off Publishing Team Employees

In March 2024, Ubisoft laid off 45 employees from its publishing teams as part of continued cost-cutting measures.

August 2024: Ubisoft Lays Off Employees in San Francisco and Cary

In August 2024, Ubisoft laid off 45 employees from its San Francisco and Cary, North Carolina offices as part of ongoing cost-cutting measures.

September 2024: Ubisoft Further Reduces Employee Count

By the end of September 2024, Ubisoft had further reduced its number of employees to 18,666 as part of its ongoing cost reduction plan.

October 2024: Shareholder Seeks Purchase by Private Equity Firm

In October 2024, one of Ubisoft's shareholders, AJ Investments, sought to have the company purchased by a private equity firm and push out the Guillemot family and Tencent from ownership, citing underperforming sales.

October 16, 2024: Ubisoft France Employees Strike Over Return-to-Office Policy

On October 16, 2024, over 700 Ubisoft employees in France began a three-day strike, protesting the company's requirement to return to the office three days a week. The strike involved Ubisoft's offices in Paris, Montpellier, Lyon, and Annecy.

November 2024: Assassin's Creed Shadows Delayed

Due to multiple underperforming game releases in 2024, Ubisoft delayed Assassin's Creed Shadows from November 2024 to February 2025.

December 2024: XDefiant Shutdown and Studio Closures

In December 2024, Ubisoft announced that its free-to-play game XDefiant would be shutting down in June 2025, less than a year after its release. Additionally, Ubisoft San Francisco and Ubisoft Osaka were to close, resulting in up to 277 employee layoffs.

December 2024: Tencent Considers Majority Stake in Ubisoft

In December 2024, reports suggested that Tencent was seeking to capture a majority stake in Ubisoft and take the company private, while still giving the Guillemot family control of Ubisoft.

January 2025: Ubisoft Leamington Studio Closure

In January 2025, Ubisoft closed the Ubisoft Leamington studio and downsized several other studios, resulting in up to 185 staff being laid off as part of ongoing cost-cutting measures.

January 2025: Tencent and Guillemots Consider New Venture

In January 2025, reports indicated that Tencent and the Guillemots may be looking to form a new venture under Tencent's control, moving some assets from Ubisoft into it to help boost Ubisoft's value.