CEO Yves Guillemot on Ubisoft’s Upcoming Portfolio, the Future of Assassin’s Creed

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After the excitement of Ubisoft Forward earlier in June, we were able to briefly sit down with CEO Yves Guillemot, who was feeling reflective after the whirlwind June showcase season. Among other topics, Guillemot discussed the future of Ubisoft's videogame portfolio, gave us a hint of what's to come from the Assassin's Creed series, and mused on the evolution of longstanding game genres and of the industry itself.

What video game genres is Ubisoft focusing on currently?

Yves Guillemot: The action-adventure open-world genre is really something we're continuing to concentrate on, as you can see with Star Wars Outlaws and Assassin's Creed Shadows. Our game engines - Snowdrop and Anvil - have been adapted to that genre, and we believe we can create some of the best experiences out there. And on the flip side of that are our Games as a Service (GaaS) native experiences. We've seen with games like Rainbow Six Siege that listening to your community and learning from their feedback is the way to grow a GaaS game. Of course, you absolutely need to have a vision, but the game is a co-construction with its players. If you listen to your community, you can create an evolving, best-in-class experience for them.

Ubisoft has been a key player in the open world space for many years. How do you ensure evolution and innovation with each new game?

YG: Technology is evolving at such a pace that there are limitless possibilities for evolution. In Assassin's Creed Shadows, for example, we have a weather system that will affect its gameplay; ponds that were once swimmable might freeze, for instance. Visually, we're also seeing a big step forward for the series. I have also been very vocal about the potential I see in generative AI and how