Ubisoft CEO coy on VR plans following Splinter Cell, Assassin’s Creed reports
Top executive suggests there could be an opportunity in the marketplace
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot played his cards close to his chest when asked about the company’s intentions in the virtual reality space during its quarterly sales conference call on Wednesday.
During a Q&A session, Ubisoft was asked about a recent report claiming Facebook has signed deals for exclusive Splinter Cell and Assassin’s Creed Oculus VR games, and how investors should be thinking about VR opportunities for the publisher.
While Guillemot’s response was non-committal, he suggested there could be an opportunity in the VR market for Ubisoft should the right ingredients be present.
“On the VR side, we think seamless, frictionless, and good entry prices, and good games, could help this business to take off because it provides a good immersion for players, but we need to make sure those elements are there to make it actually grow,” he said.
Ubisoft has published a handful or VR titles, including Eagle Flight from Ubisoft Montreal and Star Trek: Bridge Crew from Red Storm Entertainment.
It’s also created a couple of Assassin’s Creed VR “escape games” built for public entertainment venues rather than home VR headsets, and only available in selected locations such as arcades and theme parks.
Earlier this month, The Information claimed Facebook could be set to pump $1 billion into a new VR gaming push, which is being spearheaded by Naughty Dog co-founder and former THQ president Jason Rubin, now VP of special gaming initiatives at the social media company, with personal involvement from CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Two sources said to be familiar with the matter told the publication Facebook has agreed deals with Ubisoft to bring the publisher’s blockbuster Assassin’s Creed franchise to Oculus VR, as well as the fan favourite Splinter Cell series.
On Wednesday’s earnings call, Ubisoft also claimed The Division 2 was the best-selling game worldwide in the first half of 2019.
