we literally have 0 clue what bungie’s revenue was since they are not publicly traded but if you want it broken down, here a youtuber called griffin gaming and who has a masters in finance or something like that and has taken courses in business so he knows what he is talking about broke the bungie acquisition down (I had to upload it on a throw away account but bungie was a great purchase tbh) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-6nHVpB8V4
1 Like
The initial cost of the company sure, but I don’t know if Microsoft would be all that willing to take on a company so close to making a loss (and they have dipped into a loss multiple times in the past 10/15 years). Though I could potentially see it being worthwhile for Microsoft if they were able to scale back the size of the likes of Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry (which wouldn’t be a bad thing in general) and redistribute the support network across all of Microsoft Gaming.
Absolutely there would need to be some reshuffling but as you say it’s not necessarily a bad thing.
I love Assassin’s Creed but they need a reboot/revival as do many Ubi properties.
1 Like
I’m sure it’s going to be beneficial to Sony or they wouldn’t have done it. One thing we know is they make smart acquisitions.
Using his simple 14x calculation though is not that straightforward. E.g. 14 x Ubisofts 2.2 billion revenue would be 30.8 billion but we know there are other factors and Ubisofts profit is very slim!
they used a similar method to justify the activision price but this is just one method of multiple (he mentioned it later in the live stream)
- Ubisoft - 20k employees, 2.5b revenue, 300m profit
- EA - 10k employees, 6.5b revenue, 940m profit
- T2 - 6.5k employees, 3.4b revenue, 650m profit
Ubisoft is incredibly ineffective and any company willing to buy it will have to do a thorough cleaning which will require lay offs. And lay offs will generate an enormous backlash for any platform holder (especially Microsoft). Add to that issues with toxicity and the necessity to deal with european worker unions and you get the company that has to be manually managed. I don’t see any company (big tech or not) trying to fix Ubisoft.
Essentially I stick to two possible scenarios
- Ubisoft is split into parts with various studios and IPs going to various buyers
- Ubisoft acquired by private equity company, run into the ground or heavily optimized (with lay offs and so on), maybe sold off later (like it happed with Blizzard multiple times)
Because nobody would buy Ubisoft and let it continue to operate they way it is happening right now. For Microsoft the best scenario is to get Ubisoft+ on Game Pass for cheap and that’s it.
People keep saying this 20k people is a problem but I see it as a reason to buy them, that is so many staff to work on any Xbox IP. Workforce is literally a commodity in this industry and as games get bigger and more advanced you need more people. Microsoft said they want a game every quarter, meaning they need a huge workforce and so does Game Pass if they want it to grow.
With all that said they can buy single studios too but they are really starting to get few and far between and with a deal like Ubisoft you get a big bunch in one swoop.
7 Likes
I think Microsoft is all in, but maybe not 20% of their entire workforce all in.
They’re all in to spend 68B with their largest acquisition in company history, in the biggest entertainment sector. This doesn’t take into account they just added 10K in one hit with ABK and I just doubt that staff numbers are really a roadblock to something they see could massively increase their position.
I’ve said it before IP and workforce are the biggest things you want right now and it’s only going to get worse in future. It’s so hard to create a brand new IP now days that existing IP with a fan base is so helpful.
I’m not saying it’s a lock and I don’t think MS will do a deal that big while ABK is happening, I just don’t think staff numbers will be the thing that stops a deal going through.
For example I think this is their line of priority
-
How does this help Game Pass
-
Could this help in markets we are weak in
-
Will this help increase our output to help with Game Pass releases to hit our goals
Stuff like that before staff numbers
3 Likes
ABK is essentially three semi-independent companies in comparison to Ubisoft though.
I am curious how the wages and everything would work if they transitioned everyone over to MS employees. Obviously they have regional salaries, but might be a lot of $ for what is work that would typically go to contract studios.
1 Like
I’d argue that’s worse as there is more management to go through, 10k people spread over a few companies is no real difference between 10k in one company imo, like I said though it’s probably worse having multiple companies separate.
No idea but there are even things we don’t even talk about like pulling services for their games from places like AWS and Google Cloud to move onto Azure and such which helps a lot to promote your services, being able to say you have “partners” like ABK or Ubisoft using your services could help promote their stuff.
There is a million different things that go through these sorts of deals that we all don’t even think about, shit like health insurance and all sorts of crap haha.
That’s assuming the new owner(s) kept it as it is.
MS for example have so many vacancies across all their studios, they they could easily be filled by transferring employees rather than laying them off.
From what I understand most of the UBI studios are support studios which could help with the new owners other properties.
Multiple companies means less management - it is actually the same model as Microsoft uses for their gaming division with publishers being semi-independent. They are able to operate by themselves.
Absolutely along with their diversity of locations it will be an invaluable resource even if it takes time and money to sort out.
1 Like
I pick the former. Probably the most likely scenario with there most recent fiscal returns. If it is a bidding war and MS was at the table, I’d like them to acquire these
Studios:
-Ubisoft Quebec, AC Odyssey/Immortals Fenix rising
-Massive Ent, The Division
-Ubisoft Toronto, SC Blacklist/Far Cry 5&6
-Ubisoft Montpellier, Rayman Origins and Legends
-Red Storm Ent, OG Rainbow Six developer up to Future Soldier
-RedLynx, Trails
IP:
-Tom Clancy License
-Assassins Creed
-Rayman
-Trails
-Immortals
Not opposed to other options, I don’t see much value in the Far Cry IP since we are FPS heavy lol. But I’m sure most of you would love it. Thought about NADEO and Trackmania as well, but we have Playgrounds who I’m sure could do an equal if not better job developing something similar . Ubisoft Milan also might be a great pick, never played those Rabbids games, but heard they’re top notch
Yeah this too, especially with what has happened recently have studios everywhere could help eliminate or lessen the impact of this like the recent pandemic and obviously the diverse culture of all the countries in the world. They will want studios everywhere, good way to make unique games that way.
1 Like
I don’t assume that. I am saying that the best case scenario for Microsoft is Ubisoft+ stays - at least for the time being. But eventually even the third party offerings - especially from Ubisoft considering that unlike EA Ubisoft does not make sports game - won’t matter that much for Microsoft with their first party being strong and consistent.
Whether the new entity will keep Ubisoft+ or not, is an enterily different matter. I think it will stay there for a time being because it is a subscription service. It will probably get even various tiers too (as rumored).
To many, this is a negative not a positive.
Biggest Ubisoft IPs are AC, FC, Watch Dogs, Tom Clancy. Tom Clancy is a tough one due to so many games developed by so many studios (Ghost Recon, Splinter Cell, Rainbox Six, Division etc.). Probably gonna be the most expensive one with potentially a lot of studios involved. I think that acquisition like [IP + studios + some support studios] is a possibility.