French game developers mired in operational and development difficultiesUbisoftIt is accelerating its organizational restructuring, known as the "three-year plan." (Official)AnnounceTwo key senior management appointments: Julien Bares, former global head of game development at Tencent, will return to lead two major divisions focused on live-service and casual mobile games.Creative HousesThomas Andrén, with extensive experience in cross-studio coordination, will serve as the general manager of the newly established support hub, Creative Network. Following Tencent's significant investment and acquisition of shares in a key IP subsidiary, this personnel reshuffle seems to subtly suggest that Ubisoft is attempting to emulate the successful operating model of the Chinese giant.
Empowerment and Accountability of the Five Major "Creative Studios"
In late January of this year, Ubisoft announced a massive restructuring plan that shocked the industry (alongside the release of "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake").Development terminatedThe core of this plan is to reorganize the originally large and unclear global development team into five highly autonomous "Creative Houses" based on game genre and player experience.
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot hopes that this new structure will give development teams greater ownership and accountability for their own brands, and bring them closer to the player community.
A former Tencent executive has returned to focus on the most lucrative "real-time services" and "casual mobile games."
Among the personnel announcements, the most eye-catching is Julien Bares, who will be returning to his post on March 23.
Julien Bares has over 25 years of experience in the gaming industry, starting his career at Ubisoft, where he served as producer on titles such as *Ghost Recon* and *Splinter Cell*. His most recent notable achievements include serving as General Manager of 2K China and subsequently as Head of Development and Portfolio Support at Tencent Games Global.
Upon returning to Ubisoft, Julien Bares will take charge of two highly strategic and revenue-driven divisions:
• Creative House 3:Focusing on high-intensity live experiences games, the company manages brands that require long-term community management, including The Crew, For Honor, and Riders Republic.
• Creative House 5:Focusing on the casual and mobile game market, they are responsible for lightweight IPs that are suitable for all ages and have amazing earning power, such as Just Dance, Grootopia, and Hungry Shark.
Establish a "Creative Network" hub to strengthen cross-border technology support.
In addition to the creative studio that led the development, Ubisoft also announced the establishment of a new support organization called "Creative Network," with Thomas Andrén, a current executive at Massive Entertainment, taking over as general manager on April 1.
Thomas Andrén previously worked on the development and management of *Star Wars Outlaws* and *Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora*. In the future, the "Creative Network" he leads will bring together a group of highly skilled studios (such as teams from Bucharest, Craiova, and RedLynx) to provide strong cross-project technical support and collaborative development capabilities for the five major creative studios.
