Ubisoft CEO Comments on Acquisition Rumors

By Marc Deschamps

Acquisitions are all the rage in the video game industry right now, and rumors have suggested that Ubisoft could be next. Back in February, CEO Yves Guillemot stated that the company would review any acquisition offers, while pointing out that Ubisoft also has the resources to remain independent. During a year-end investors call, Guillemot stressed the latter point, stating that the publisher has no financial need to become part of a larger company. The CEO also mentioned that Ubisoft already has plenty of talent, as well as a stable of IPs that are popular throughout the world.

"There has been a lot of talk around consolidation in the industry, and Ubisoft in particular," said Guillemot. "Our overall position is clear and well known: As we said last February, we have everything we need to remain independent. We have the talent, the industrial and the financial scale, and a large portfolio of powerful IPs to create massive value in the coming years."

Guillemot's latest statement should come as a relief for a lot of Ubisoft fans! Franchises like Far Cry and Assassin's Creed have established passionate audiences on multiple platforms, and an acquisition might mean that those franchises would become exclusive to one platform, as we're seeing following Xbox's purchase of Bethesda. However, that's not always the case; following purchases by Xbox and PlayStation, Activision's Call of Duty and Bungie's Destiny will both remain multi-platform.

The acquisition craze will be interesting to watch over the next few years. There are potential benefits to consolidation for the video game industry; there's a lot of hope that Microsoft's purchase of Activision Blizzard will help clean up the company's culture, and result in fewer rushed Call of Duty games. There are also plenty of negatives, and games becoming exclusive to one platform is one of them. For now, Ubisoft fans can breathe easily, knowing that they won't have to rush out and purchase another platform just to enjoy their favorite games.

Are you worried about all these major gaming acquisitions? Is there a company you'd want to see purchase Ubisoft? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!

[H/T: PC Gamer]

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