"An Ubisoft developer I chatted with back in 2022 was feeling pretty jealous. Elden Ring had just come out and was blowing people away. Despite FromSoftware's reputation for challenging gameplay and esoteric design, the open-world RPG was breaking out into the mainstream. It was a hardcore game but it wasn't only being enjoyed by hardcore gamers. Ubisoft had thousands of people working on open-world RPGs for years. Why couldn't it make one that felt just as creatively bold, vibrant, and potent?"
"A version of this question has been haunting the French publisher since Ghost Recon Breakpoint bombed back in 2019. It wasn't a terrible game, just kind of a bland and boring one. It became the poster child for the bloated Ubisoft blockbuster that felt designed by committee for no one in particular. Co-founder and CEO Yves Guillemot promised sweeping reforms to get to the bottom of what was going wrong with the publisher's production processes."
"The untenable situation blew up again this week with Ubisoft announcing major delays, cancelations, cost-cutting, and restructuring that will result in some big short-term operating losses and more long-term uncertainty. Ubisoft's market cap before Breakpoint was close to €10 billion. It's since fallen by 95 percent to just €500 million. The news was jarring, particularly to the more than 15,000 employees across the company's global network of studios who found out the news alongside everyone else in an end-of-day message from the CEO."
An Ubisoft developer felt jealous in 2022 as Elden Ring broke into the mainstream despite FromSoftware's esoteric reputation. Ubisoft employed thousands working on open-world RPGs for years but struggled to produce one as creatively bold and potent. Ghost Recon Breakpoint's 2019 failure exposed problems of bland, committee-driven design and prompted CEO Yves Guillemot to promise sweeping reforms. Five years and several organizational "resets" produced unclear results. Ubisoft announced major delays, cancellations, cost-cutting, and restructuring that will cause short-term operating losses and long-term uncertainty. Market capitalization plunged from about €10 billion to €500 million. More than 15,000 employees learned the changes via an end-of-day CEO message.
Read at Kotaku
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