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One Ubisoft shareholder is reportedly preparing a protest against the company's "horribly mismanaged" plans, which led to "declining shareholder value."
In a statement seen and shared by IGN, AJ Investments CEO Juraj Krupa is planning a protest to once again express its disappointment in the publisher's management, pointing to Assassin's Creed Shadows delays, declining stock, and alleged acquisition talks.
Last year, Bloomberg reported that Ubisoft was considering selling almost the entire company to media conglomerate Tencent. Krupa also mentioned a report from private investment platform MergerMarket that claimed Ubisoft had discussions with the likes of Microsoft and EA about acquiring its IP without informing investors.
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"Management postponed its current game (which should save the company and its financials) Assassin’s Creed first time on 18th of July 2024," Krupa's statement reads, all typos included. "On that date, Ubisoft confirmed full-year guidance for the year and release of AC Shadows on November 15. 2024. Just [a] couple months later, in September 2024, Ubisoft delayed the game again and revised its guidance, which in our view, was [a] move that could have [been] predicted by Ubisoft management."
Krupa said the repeated delays, that pushed Shadows to March 20, "caused severe stock declines, which harmed mostly retail investors that have limited resources to manage their positions accordingly." Meanwhile, at the time, Ubisoft said the delays came from wanting to give the game more polish, which sounds far more sensible from a player's perspective.
AJ Investments is planning the demonstration for May to give Ubisoft enough time to make good on its promise and reverse course. "If their conclusion effectively enhances shareholder value, we will call off the demonstration." Otherwise, AJ Investments also declared it's ready to "sue the company for misleading investors."
In a statement to IGN, Ubisoft itself reiterated that it's already in the middle of "various transformational strategic and capitalistic options" to "extract the best value from Ubisoft’s assets and franchises for all stakeholders."
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Though AJ Investments' criticisms may have been heavyhanded, there's no denying that Ubisoft has been in a slump for a while. Star Wars Outlaws and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora were far from the huge hits they could've been, Skull and Bones was an outright flop, and projects like the Splinter Cell and Prince of Persia: Sands of Time remake seem to be stuck in development purgatory. Assassin's Creed Shadows might just be the company's saving grave, however, according to cheerful pre-order numbers.
Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.
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