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Following the excitement of Ubisoft Forward earlier in June, we were able to sit down briefly with CEO Yves Guillaume, who was feeling reflective after a hectic June presentation season. Among other topics, Guillemot discussed the future of Ubisoft’s video game portfolio, hinted at what’s to come from the Assassin’s Creed series, and reflected on the evolution of long-standing gaming genres and the industry itself.

What video game genres is Ubisoft currently focusing on?

Yves Guillaume: The open world action-adventure genre is really something we continue to focus on, as you can see with star Wars Outlaws and Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Our game engines – Snowdrop and Anvil – are adapted to this genre and we believe we can create some of the best experiences out there. And on the flip side of that is our own Games as a Service (GaaS). We’ve seen with games like Rainbow Six Siege that listening to your community and learning from their feedback is the way to develop a GaaS game. Of course, you absolutely must have a vision, but the game is a co-construction with its players. By listening 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 developing at such a speed that there are unlimited opportunities for evolution. In Assassin’s Creed Shadows, for example, we have a weather system that will affect its gameplay; lakes that were once swimmable can freeze over, for example. Visually, we also see a big step forward for the series. I’ve also been very vocal about the potential I see in generative AI and how it can enrich NPCs to be smarter, more interactive. This could potentially extend to both the animals in the world and the world itself. There is still so much we can do to enrich these open worlds to make them even more dynamic.

What do you think Assassin’s Creed Shadows brings to the series that might attract players who haven’t played Assassin’s Creed before or who have given up on the series?

YG: I think the fact that you’re in feudal Japan and exploring such a beautiful world with two complementary but different characters is a very enticing proposition. You can choose how to deal with each situation, playing as a shinobi or a samurai, and have many different experiences depending on your choice. I can’t wait for players, both new and returning, to get their hands on it.

On the Assassin’s Creed front, we’ve had Mirage, which was a weaker homage to the series’ roots, and now Shadows, which is much larger in scope and more in the spirit of Odyssey/Valhalla. Looking to the future, can we expect this diversity? Smaller games alongside bigger ones?

YG: First, players can be excited about some remakes that will allow us to revisit some of the games we’ve made in the past and modernize them; there are worlds in some of our older Assassin’s Creed games that are still extremely rich. Second, to answer your question, there will be a wide variety of experiences. The goal is for the Assassin’s Creed games to come out more regularly, but not to have the same experience every year. There’s a lot of good stuff coming, including Assassin’s Creed Hexe, which we announced, which will be a very different game from Assassin’s Creed Shadows. I think we’re going to surprise people.

While some GaaS games have retained a significant loyal player base, we’ve seen a large number of publishers try and fail in this environment. What can Ubisoft bring to the games as a service marketplace to ensure they stand out from the crowd?

YG: We must continue to listen carefully to our players and make well-informed decisions about where to focus our efforts, because if you succeed in GaaS, you can succeed in the long term. Let’s take a look at XDefiant. It has a lot of work to do, but it managed to attract 11 million players in a short time. And that number will increase with all the work the team has done to ensure that season one brings much more to the existing experience. It’s about making the right choice and sticking with it.

What are your hopes for XDefiant in the future?

YG: Well, apart from being constantly updated, with different experiences and optimized gameplay, I would like to see it as a serious eSports. But really, for a game like this, there’s no limit to its future. And we have a fantastic team that listens to our players and communicates with them, which is so important. We’re off to a strong start, but there’s still a long way to go and I’m excited to rise to the challenge.

Let’s quickly touch on Ubisoft’s Snowdrop and Anvil engines. What benefits do they bring to Ubisoft games?

YG: They are specialized and set our games apart. We will continue to invest in our right engines; the creators of our engines understand what our games need and what our game developers need, and our engines cater to those needs. That’s why we can continue to push our visual effects and gameplay to new heights.

I would like to close with a two-part question. Part One: What frustrates you about the games industry right now?

YG: One thing I am concerned about right now is the malicious and personal online attacks that are being directed at some of our team members and partners. I want to make it clear that we, at Ubisoft, condemn these hateful actions in the strongest possible terms, and I encourage the rest of the industry and players to condemn them as well. I’m proud to support the incredible work of our teams and partners and will always trust their creative choices. We should all celebrate the hard work and talent that goes into making video games.

That is very clear. So, the second part of the question: what excites you about the gaming industry right now?

YG: What I’m excited about, and what I’ve always been excited about, is new technology and the potential it can bring for our developers and, of course, our players. I would like the hardware to develop even faster. The fact that games have been compatible with both current and previous generation consoles for some time is a fantastic thing for our legacy catalog and our players, but it’s holding the industry back a bit when it comes to developing truly new experiences. If, as game developers, we can more quickly embrace and master technological advances like generative AI and the cloud, we will be in a much better position to create new, standout experiences for players.