Ubisoft
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Ubisoft is a video game publisher and developer behind franchises such as Assassin's Creed, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon and Rainbow Six, The Division, and Prince of Persia. It sells games and a subscription service (Ubisoft+) to consumers across multiple platforms.
Also known as Ubi Soft Entertainment SA · Ubisoft Entertainment SA
Investors · 1
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Ubisoft Entertainment SA is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé, France, with development studios worldwide. Its franchises include Anno, Assassin's Creed, Driver, Far Cry, Just Dance, Prince of Persia, Rabbids, Rayman, Tom Clancy's (including Ghost Recon, Rainbow Six and Splinter Cell) and Watch Dogs. The company is led by chairman and CEO Yves Guillemot, with Frédérick Duguet as CFO, and reported 16,590 employees in 2026.
Alongside game development and publishing, Ubisoft operates Ubisoft Connect, a free multi-platform player-services ecosystem accessible via a desktop app and in-game on PC and console, providing cross-platform chat, friends lists, cross-progression, and a Units-based rewards program redeemable for in-game items or Ubisoft Store discounts. It also runs the Ubisoft Store (formerly Uplay Store) for direct digital sales and the Ubisoft+ subscription service, which includes a Premium tier priced at $17.99 USD per month. Technology assets referenced include the UbiArt Framework, Ubisoft Anvil and Snowdrop engines.
Recent slate items promoted on the company's own site include Assassin's Creed Shadows, Anno 117: Pax Romana, Star Wars Outlaws, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, Skull and Bones, Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced, a Heroes of Might and Magic III Remake, the newly announced turn-based single-player title Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Tactics, and live-service titles such as Rainbow Six Siege, The Division 2, The Division Resurgence, The Crew Motorfest, For Honor and Brawlhalla.
Founding story
The Guillemot family ran a farming support business in Brittany, France. Its five sons — Christian, Claude, Gérard, Michel and Yves — sought to diversify, first selling CD audio, then computers and software. Noticing that computers and software cost substantially more from French suppliers than in the United Kingdom, they launched a mail-order business, founding Guillemot Informatique in 1984 and Guillemot Corporation in 1985 for hardware distribution. Recognising video game software as a lucrative segment and already holding publishing and distribution insight, the brothers founded Ubi Soft Entertainment S.A. on 28 March 1986; the name was chosen to convey "ubiquitous" software. Yves Guillemot was appointed chief executive officer in 1988.
Business model
Ubisoft develops and publishes video games across PC and console platforms, selling premium titles and additional content such as season passes directly through its own Ubisoft Store and through third-party platforms, supplementing this with the Ubisoft+ subscription and free-to-play live-service titles.
Revenue comes from game sales (standard, deluxe and elite editions), in-game purchases and virtual currency, downloadable content and season passes, and recurring subscription fees for Ubisoft+ (Premium tier listed at $17.99 USD/month). Reported revenue was €1.395 billion in 2026, with an operating loss of €1.044 billion and a net loss of €1.516 billion.
Traction
The company reported 16,590 employees in 2026 and revenue of €1.395 billion, alongside an operating loss of €1.044 billion and net loss of €1.516 billion; total assets stood at €3.945 billion and total equity at €1.393 billion.
Latest developments
Ubisoft has undertaken company-wide cost-reduction actions over a 24-month period, including the closure of its Ubisoft Halifax studio affecting 71 positions, announced shortly after the studio's staff certified the first Ubisoft union in North America; the company attributed the closure to cost-cutting rather than unionization. Massive, the Star Wars Outlaws studio, ran a "voluntary career transition program" of soft layoffs as of October 2025, and layoffs were also reported at the Barcelona studio working on Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced. As part of restructuring, Ubisoft received investment from Tencent in a new subsidiary, Vantage Studios, which oversees major IP including Assassin's Creed. On the product side, the company announced Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Tactics and a Heroes of Might and Magic III Remake, launched Rainbow Six Siege's Operation Split Fire season on September 1, and soft-launched the Player Council on PC.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Ubisoft is a publicly traded French video game publisher and a component of the CAC Mid 60 index, with a portfolio of long-running franchises and a global studio network, operating amid recent financial pressure and restructuring.
The company combines a large portfolio of owned, long-running franchises with a global network of in-house studios, proprietary engines, and a first-party distribution and services stack spanning the Ubisoft Store, Ubisoft Connect and the Ubisoft+ subscription.
Technology
Ubisoft maintains proprietary game technology including the UbiArt Framework, the Ubisoft Anvil engine and the Snowdrop engine, plus Ubisoft Connect, a cross-platform services layer supporting cross-play, cross-progression, friends and chat across major gaming platforms.
Go-to-market
The company sells directly through the Ubisoft Store with recurring promotional sales (for example a Gamescom sale with discounts up to 85% plus an additional 20% code) and distributes across major console and PC platforms. It markets through industry events such as Gamescom panels, seasonal live-service content drops, free trials, demos and betas, and a player-feedback program, the Player Council, which soft-launched on PC.
Consumer video game players on PC and consoles worldwide, including buyers of premium single-player titles, players of free-to-play and live-service games, and subscribers to Ubisoft+.
Geography
Headquartered in Saint-Mandé, France, serving a worldwide market with development studios across the globe, including historical studio openings in Annecy, Shanghai, Montreal and Milan, and subsidiaries such as Barcelona, Blue Byte, Massive Entertainment, Montpellier, Montreal, Nadeo, Quebec, Red Storm Entertainment, Reflections, Singapore and Toronto.
History
Ubi Soft first operated from offices in Paris, moving to Créteil by June 1986, while using a chateau in Brittany as its primary development space. Its 1986 titles included Zombi, Ciné Clap, Fer et Flamme, Masque and the sprite editor Graphic City; Zombi had sold 5,000 copies by January 1987 and was distributed in Spain and West Germany. The company also imported and distributed third-party titles in France, such as Elite Software's Commando and Ikari Warriors. Early developers included Michel Ancel and Serge Hascoët. A Montreuil studio housing over 100 developers was established in 1994, and Ancel's team's game Rayman shipped in 1995, delivering the company's first major commercial and critical success. Guillemot Informatique, meanwhile, distributed games for Electronic Arts, Sierra On-Line and MicroProse in France and had become the largest video game distributor in France by 1993. Ubi Soft listed on the public markets in 1996, raising over US$80 million, and within two years opened studios in Annecy (1996), Shanghai (1996), Montreal (1997) and Milan (1998). The company was renamed from Ubi Soft Entertainment SA to Ubisoft Entertainment SA in 2003. In recent years Ubisoft has struggled financially, reporting a strong revenue decline in 2024 and laying off 700 employees in 2025.
Risks & controversies
Ubisoft has faced an ongoing workplace sexual misconduct scandal; CEO Yves Guillemot, while not personally implicated in the misconduct, has been criticised for tolerating it over years, for moving accused managers to other departments rather than dismissing them, and for a reluctance to change workplace culture, according to reporting and an open letter from employees. The company has also faced financial deterioration, project cancellations and delays (including Skull and Bones), a stock decline following those cancellations, sustained layoffs and studio closures, and stated internal risk of losing key talent and skills after large-scale layoffs.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 16
launches, deals, and filingsStar Wars Outlaws studio Massive rolled out soft layoffs through a "voluntary career transition program".
Operation Split Fire delivered major content updates for Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege, including a new shield-counter Operator, Noor.
As part of Ubisoft's restructuring, Chinese firm Tencent made a significant investment in the new Ubisoft subsidiary Vantage Studios, which oversees IP including Assassin's Creed.
Ubisoft laid off 700 employees in 2025 following a strong decline in revenue reported in 2024.
Ubisoft soft-launched the Player Council on PC, letting players test early concepts, prototypes and live experiences and give feedback during development.
Ubisoft announced Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Tactics, a single-player Rainbow Six game with turn-based gameplay, and showed first gameplay.
Ubisoft shuttered its Ubisoft Halifax studio, affecting 71 positions, shortly after staff certified the first Ubisoft union in North America. Ubisoft said the closure was unrelated to the union and part of company-wide cost-cutting undertaken over the past 24 months.
Ubisoft acquired the Halifax, Canada studio in 2015; the studio worked on mobile installments of franchises including Assassin's Creed and Rainbow Six.
Following its IPO, the company opened studios in Annecy and Shanghai as part of worldwide expansion.
Ubi Soft listed its initial public offering in 1996, raising over US$80 million to fund expansion of the company.
$80M source ↗
Rayman, developed by a team including Michel Ancel and Frédéric Houde, was released and became the company's first major commercial and critical success.
The company established a studio in Montreuil to house over 100 developers.
Yves Guillemot was appointed chief executive officer of Ubi Soft in 1988; he serves as chairman and CEO.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Ubisoftubisoft.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Ubisoft do?
- French video game publisher and developer, listed on Euronext Paris, behind Assassin's Creed, Far Cry and Tom Clancy's franchises.
- Who are Ubisoft's investors?
- Ubisoft's investors include BLN Capital.