'Assassin's Creed Empire,' 'Beyond Good & Evil 2' Release Might Be Affected By Vivendi's Hostile Takeover Threat
J RoseMore fans are getting concerned about Vivendi's potential takeover of Ubisoft, as it may affect some of the publisher's upcoming games, such as "Assassin's Creed Empire" and "Beyond Good & Evil 2."
Vivendi Ups Its Ubisoft Shares
Vivendi has increased its stake in Ubisoft share capital by 2.15 percent last week, and now has a 25.15 percent stake in the company, as well as 22.92 percent of its voting rights, according to Polygon.
Confirming this in a press release, Vivendi said, "Vivendi's investment in Ubisoft's business sector is part of a strategic vision of operational convergence between Vivendi's content and platform and Ubisoft's productions in the field of video games."
Vivendi has now exceeded the 25 percent sharing threshold in Ubisoft, which takes the company even closer to a hostile takeover. As per French law, companies and stockholders have an obligation to make a public offer on the company if their shares go past the 30 percent mark.
Vivendi said that upping their shares did not translate to a hostile takeover on their part, and it is just hoping to "build a fruitful cooperation with Ubisoft." Vivendi has also acquired
Ubisoft On Vivendi's Creeping Control Strategy
Ubisoft, however, are not convinced. Speaking candidly to The Wall Street Journal in September, Ubisoft president Yves Guillemot said that Vivendi's creeping control strategy is "dangerous."
The publisher said that they will not relax until Vivendi sells their shares. "We think that there's a great risk of shareholders losing value," he said.
The Ubisoft boss also told Gamespot that he will definitely step down as CEO if Vivendi takes over.
How Will This Affect Future Games?
"Beyond Good & Evil" creator Michel Ansel, who is currently working on the game's highly anticipated sequel, told Kotaku in November that while the team will try and not let the potential takeover affect their work, he said that they cannot "live with the threat".
Ubisoft VP of live operations Anne Blondel-Jouin, in turn, told PC Games N that Vivendi's potential takeover may affect the publisher's approach to its video game titles.
""So far so good, I would say, because gamers are still [with us]," Blondel-Jouin said, "and I know for a fact, having been there for 20 years, that if you [separate] us from our independence, if you take away the way we like taking risk and inventing new stuff.
"Well it's not going to be the same Ubisoft - for me, it wouldn't be the same," she concluded.
"Assassin's Creed Empire" is slated for a 2017 release, while "Beyond Good & Evil 2" still does not have a solid launch date, but it is rumored to come out for the Nintendo Switch.
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