Earlier this year, Assassin’s Creed maker Ubisoft got $1.25 billion from Chinese tech conglomerate Tencent to spin off its most successful gaming franchises into a separate subsidiary. Now we know who’s running this new Ubisoft within Ubisoft: North American studios head Christophe Derennes and CEO Yves Guillemot’s son, Charlie Guillemot.
The French publisher announced the co-leaders of this strange new entity will be in charge of turning Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, and Rainbow Six Siege into even bigger successes, potentially saving the rest of the struggling company in the process, or ejecting like an escape pod if the broader mothership, which is in charge of The Division, Just Dance, and decade-long in-development projects like Beyond Good and Evil 2, fails to course correct.
Derennes was already in charge of Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft’s biggest development leader in its sprawling network of studios and the one which, along with Ubisoft Quebec, has long led production on Far Cry and Assassin’s Creed, including this year’s Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Charlie Guillemot had previously be co-studio head of Owlient, which was making small mobile games for Ubisoft like Tom Clancy’s Elite Squad. He left in 2021 to work for the AI and Web3 game company Unagi but returned earlier this year as the Tencent deal took shape.
Asked about charges of nepotism over the appointment, Charlie Guillemot told Variety:
I completely understand where it comes from, and I want to be clear about it. Yes, I’m Yves’ son. That’s not something I hide from. But my appointment isn’t only about family ties; it’s about what Ubisoft needs at this moment. I’ve spent the last decade building experience both inside and outside Ubisoft, leading teams, managing brands, and navigating change in a fast-moving industry. I also made the conscious choice to step away when it made sense, to learn and grow elsewhere.
According to an internal memo reported by Insider Gaming, Charlie Guillemot will be in charge of the gaming brands “meaning their game content, their direction and development as brands, their marketing, and their commercial performance.” Representatives from Tencent will act as “top-notch consultants” for this new Ubisoft entity, the first of what Ubisoft calls “Creative Houses” which will be the new structure for the company’s game serpentine co-development pipeline moving forward.
Ubisoft was founded back in 1986 by Yves Guillemot and his four brothers, Christian, Claude, Gérard, and Michel, and the publisher has remained family-run through both hostile takeover attempts and sexual harassment scandals. Earlier this month, former chief creative officer Serge Hascoët received an 18-month suspended sentence and a fine of $52,000 for allegations of psychological harassment and complicity in sexual harassment.
The company is set for a quiet year ahead after it delayed the next entries in several of its biggest series, like Far Cry and Ghost Recon. In addition to upcoming Assassin’s Creed spin-offs and sequels, Ubisoft is also doubling down on remasters. The first is expected to be a re-issue of 2013's popular Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag. In the meantime, ongoing cost-cutting initiatives have continued hollowing out some of the company’s better known offices, including the closure of the San Francisco studio and more layoffs at Red Storm Entertainment where the Tom Clancy games originated.
Update 7/16/2025 1:14 p.m. ET: Added additional information from Variety and Insider Gaming.
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